Huckabee Sanders decided to treat the press corps like children today and wouldn’t take questions unless they first announced what they were thankful for. Most played along, and gave a laundry list of things to be thankful for before asking a question. (One even said she was thankful for being allowed to talk to Huckabee Sanders every day.)
As with anything in this administration, this stunt wasn’t benign. Huckabee has gone farther than any of her predecessors in trying to qualify who and what credentialed media can ask her. As one former Pentagon spokesman put it:
Sanders got away with it on Monday, playing off the Thanksgiving holiday. And most folks took it in stride.
Hopefully, that’s where it ends.
But I believe her little stunt is part and parcel of a longer, larger effort by this administration to undermine the stature and credibility of the free press in this country. And none of us should take that in stride, least of all the press.
However, there was this one reporter who gave an answer that caused the room (and me) to go “Oooooooooohhhhh”:
That’s ABC News correspondent Cecilia Vega saying she is thankful for the first amendment.
The look on Huckabee Sander’s face is priceless.
She knew damn well that was a swipe at this awful administration—the very administration that has come out and said that a free press is their true “opposition party”.
The rightwing message boards I monitor were livid that this Latina reporter dared insult the president. Think about that. This administration is so antithetical to what America stands for that saying you are thankful for the first amendment—the right to have a free press—means you are considered an enemy of Donald Trump.
BTW, regarding the rest of the clip, as usual Huckabee Sanders looks like the complete tool that she is. She tells Vega that said she has already answered “10-15 times” per day that the White House’s official position is that they have no position on Roy Moore and that ain’t changing--so quit asking.
...until it suddenly did with her boss throwing her under the bus today.
Trump just said in no uncertain terms that it is better to vote for a child molester who assaulted women than to vote for any Democrat. So there’s that. (PS—given his history with child molesters, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone, but still, damn.) I wonder what Huckabee Sanders response will be the next time she’s asked.
This year, I am thankful that I only have three years left of a truly awful administration. (Possibly, hopefully, less than that.)
But I am also thankful for the few reporters who, in the meantime, know what their job is and how to do it. That’s why if I was in the White House press room, I would have told Huckabee Sanders that I am thankful for people like Cecilia Vega.