The June 14 White House press briefing was filled with drama as CNN’s Jim Acosta and Playboy’s Brian Karem decided to pick fights with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders over the contentious immigration policy in which children are separated from their parents during immigration enforcement arrests. Liberals think this is cruel. In actuality, it’s the enforcement of federal immigration law. Sorry, it’s against the law to be here illegally—and no, we’re not throwing these kids into cages. I’ll have something on that later this weekend. Acosta decided to become the administration’s favorite punching bag again, though not as brutal as his skirmish with senior adviser Stephen Miller last August:
During this exchange, Sanders pretty much called Acosta an idiot, noting that he was incapable of understanding even short sentences (via White House) [emphasis mine]:
[Acosta exchange around 6:30, Karem's outburst at 10:02 mark]:ACOSTA: Can I just ask a second question, completely unrelated, on these children who are being separated from their families as they come across the border? The Attorney General, earlier today, said that somehow there’s a justification for this in the Bible. Where does it say in the Bible that it’s moral to take children away from their mothers?
SANDERS: I’m not aware of the Attorney General’s comments or what he would be referencing. I can’t —
ACOSTA: Is it a moral policy, in your view?
SANDERS: I can say that it is very biblical to enforce the law. That is, actually, repeated a number of times throughout the Bible. However, this —
ACOSTA: But where in the Bible does it say —
SANDERS: Hold on, Jim. If you’ll let me finish.
ACOSTA: — it’s okay to take children away from their parents?
SANDERS: Again, I’m not going to comment on the Attorney’s specific comments that I haven’t seen.
ACOSTA: You just said it’s in the Bible to follow the law.
SANDERS: That’s not what I said. And I know it’s hard for you to understand even short sentences, I guess, but please don’t take my words out of context. But the separation of —
KAREM: That’s a cheap shot, Sarah. That’s a cheap shot, Sarah.
SANDERS: — illegal alien families is the product of the same legal loopholes that Democrats refuse to close. And these laws are the same that have been on the books for over a decade. And the President is simply enforcing them.
ACOSTA: But how is it moral? How is it a moral policy to take children away from their parents? Can you imagine —
SANDERS: It’s a moral policy to follow and enforce the law.
ACOSTA: — the horror that these children must be going through when they come across the border?
SANDERS: Jim.
ACOSTA: They’re with their parents, and then suddenly they’re pulled away from their parents. Why is the government doing this?
SANDERS: Because it’s the law. And that’s what the law states.
ACOSTA: It’s not. It doesn’t have to be the law. You guys don’t have to do that. It’s your policy.
SANDERS: You’re right, it doesn’t have to be the law. And the President has actually called on Democrats in Congress to fix those loopholes. The Democrats have failed to come to the table, failed to help this President close these loopholes and fix this problem. We don’t want this to be a problem. The President has tried to address it on a number of occasions. We’ve laid out a proposal. And Democrats simply refuse to do their job and fix the problem.
Playboy’s White House correspondent and CNN political analyst Brian Karem, who called what's left of President Trump's base the Nazi Party, also tried to pick a fight with Sanders. The exchange provided a good reason for why cameras should be removed from the press room. Would reporters act out like this if they knew their theatrics wouldn't be recorded for the rest of the media/public to see? Probably not. Fox News’ Jesse Waters described Karem’s antics as someone who is an “emotional wreck.”
KAREM: Sarah. Sarah, don’t you have any empathy?
SANDERS: Jill, go ahead.
KAREM: Come on, Sarah. You’re a parent. Don’t you have any empathy for what these people are going through?
SANDERS: Jill.
KAREM: They have less than you do.
SANDERS: Brian. Guys, settle down.
KAREM: Sarah, come on. Seriously. Seriously.
SANDERS: I’m trying to be serious, but I’m not going to have you yell out of turn.
Jill, please —
KAREM: But you’re sitting there telling us it’s a law. And they have — these people have nothing. They come over here with nothing —
SANDERS: Hey, Brian, I know you want to get some more TV time, but that’s not what this is about.
KAREM: It’s not that. It’s not about that. It’s about you answering a question, Sarah.
SANDERS: I want to recognize you. Go ahead, Jill.
KAREM: Honestly, answer the question. It’s a serious question. These people have nothing. They come to the border with nothing and you throw children in cages. You’re a parent. You’re a parent of young children. Don’t you have any empathy for what they go through?
Well, I needed an avalanche of Advil after that. Waters aptly noted that if a conservative reporter did that to a female press secretary of a Democratic president, the media would be all over it.
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