Your Basic Needs: Food, Shelter and The TRUTH
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
Q Sarah, a moment ago, you said one of the motives for Omarosa was to "tear this entire place down." What do you mean by that? And do you have - or others here have ongoing concerns that, while she was here, she taped other conversations that could either be damaging to the reputation of this White House or revelatory as something you'd rather keep private?
MS. SANDERS: I think the greatest concern we have is the lack of integrity that this individual has shown.
Q One thing that - one other thing, Sarah. She played a tape recording of a conversation with the President. Do you have any doubt that that is an authentic conversation that she had with the President?
MS. SANDERS: I don't.
Q Okay, then related to that - the President said he was "unaware" in that conversation. Is that - was that a truthful representation of what he knew at the time? Or was he just trying to make Omarosa feel better?
MS. SANDERS: As I said moments ago, the President had had a direct conversation with General Kelly; asked him to try to work things out. If it didn't, he gave General Kelly the full authority to make decisions about hiring and firing, including with respect to Omarosa.
Q So he was making her feel better? Because he knew what had happened and he knew he'd approved it.
MS. SANDERS: On the timing, I think is - he knew that it was certainly a possibility. But as to the fact whether or not General Kelly had called the President, I don't think he had at that point.
Steve.
Q Yes, Sarah. Repeatedly, we've heard the President declare that the so-called "Islamic State terror group" has been practically vanquished, especially in Iraq and Syria. Well, the Defense Department yesterday - the lead inspector general for Operation Inherent Resolve, in fact - says that their forces are estimated to be anywhere between 28,600 and 31,600 fighters, which would be about the number that they had at their peak. So has ISIS been practically vanquished?
MS. SANDERS: Certainly we know that the caliphate has been practically destroyed. Certainly there are - continue to be ISIS fighters, and that's why we continue to take all of those threats seriously and look for ways every single day to defeat them and protect American people and our allies
Q Can I go back to the race question again? I get that you can cite things - statistics that might be positive statistics for policies the President has done vis-à-vis African Americans and other minorities.
What do you say to people who look at the pattern of comments that the President has made, specifically about African Americans, and feel like he is singling those folks out because of their race? Are they missing something? Are they deluding themselves? What do you say to them?
Because there are lots of people out there who look at the pattern and say, "Yes, he says negative things about a lot of people but there seems to be a particular pattern of singling out African Americans and commenting in particular about their intelligence, or lack thereof, and their looks."
MS. SANDERS: I certainly don't think so. I think, as I said, the President has said similar things about a number of individuals, certainly, that are not African American or any other minority. I can simply talk to you about the policies and the person that the President is.
I think if, again, the person that a lot of his critics say he is certainly wouldn't have been in business with him for decades. Certainly you wouldn't have had Bill and Hillary Clinton - they attended his wedding. A number of Democrats begged him for campaign contributions. I mean, if they were who he said he was, why did they have these relationships with him?
I think it is very convenient that these accusations started once the President became someone running for office. He has shown time and time again, through his actions, through his policies, that he wants to be a President for all Americans; that he wants to do everything he can to make America better and not just for a certain group of people, but for everybody.
I think that has made a number of comments about plenty of people. And to try to single that out to one group is, frankly, silly, because I think if you did a comparison, he's probably got a lot more nasty things out there about some other people.
Q Do you think all of those are appropriate too?
MS. SANDERS: I'm sorry?
Q Do you think that - I mean -
MS. SANDERS: Look, the President is somebody who's always going to fight fire with fire. This is something that isn't new. And it's something the American people knew when they voted for him, and they overwhelmingly elected him to be the President of the United States. And since he took office, he has governed in a way that is helping all Americans.
Frankly, if we want to look at who's creating divisions in the country, I think the media has done more to divide this country - certainly far more than this President ever has - by elevating people like the author of this book, by focusing on a sparsely attended rally instead of all of the policies that this administration and that this President are enacting that helping people - not just on the economy but on school choice, on prison reform that's disproportionately affected African Americans and Hispanics. This is a President who is governing to help all Americans. And I think we'd all be better off if the media gave that just a little bit more attention.
Jon.
Q Yeah, thanks a lot, Sarah. You expressed how you feel about Omarosa since the publication of this book. How was she viewed by fellow staff members here at the White House while she worked here? Did she pull her own weight? Was she viewed as untrustworthy? Did you trust her? I'm just trying to get a sense about whether your view of her has changed with publication of this book.
MS. SANDERS: Certainly I've expressed some disappointment. I'm not going to get into a back-and-forth on personal feelings that I have with a former colleague. I think that the focus not only of my time here, but of this administration, is looking forward in how we can actually implement policies that matter to the American people - not who liked who in the building behind me.
Brian.
Q Different topic, if you can, and then a follow-up. When - the first time the Mueller investigation indicted some Russians, this administration sanctioned those Russians. The 12 that were recently indicted - the 12 Russian nationals - does this administration plan to also level sanctions against them?
MS. SANDERS: I don't have any announcements on that front right now.
Q Quick follow-up. You said you would like everyone to stop talking about this particular subject, including the administration. So are you saying you would like the President to stop tweeting about Omarosa?
MS. SANDERS: I think if the media continues to give it wall-to-wall coverage, the administration, in some cases, will be forced to respond. But I think it would be better off for all of us to walk away and focus on some things that matter.
Raquel.
Q Hi, Sarah. Thank you so much. I want to ask question about Secretary Mattis. He's in Brazil right now, and visiting other countries in South America. And how much does his trip have to do with countering the growing presence of China in the region?
MS. SANDERS: Certainly, we have a lot of shared values with the countries that he's visiting. We would always like to be the priority partner for those countries. And we hope that those relationships will continue to develop. And we'll keep you posted if he has any updates from the trip.
Last question. Steven.
Q Bearing in mind that the Trump campaign's announcement that it's pursuing arbitration of Omarosa necessitates attention and a major national focus, can we talk - and can I ask you once more about the practice of signing people to nondisclosure agreements? Because let me ask you what it says about the expressions of loyalty, or lack thereof, of people who work behind that wall. Why do people need to be contractually obligated to forever after, in perpetuity, never say anything negative about the President, any member of his family, any product they should produce? Why is that necessary?
MS. SANDERS: Look, again, it's common in a lot of -
Q Of corporations. To protect the corporate interest. What's the particular necessity of this?
MS. SANDERS: Also, despite contrary opinion, it's actually very normal. And every administration prior to the Trump administration has had NDAs, particularly specific for anyone that had a security clearance. This White House is certainly no -
Q To protect national security and classified -
Q - the distinction between classified and non -
Q (Inaudible) in keeping someone like Omarosa silent? Because right now, what the Trump campaign is doing is he's forcing her, essentially, to defend herself and potentially even pay damages. Why is that necessary?
MS. SANDERS: That's a question you would have to ask the Trump campaign. That's certainly not a question that I can answer as somebody that's in an official government capacity.
Thanks so much guys. Have a great day.
Go Back
MS. SANDERS: I think the greatest concern we have is the lack of integrity that this individual has shown.
Q One thing that - one other thing, Sarah. She played a tape recording of a conversation with the President. Do you have any doubt that that is an authentic conversation that she had with the President?
MS. SANDERS: I don't.
Q Okay, then related to that - the President said he was "unaware" in that conversation. Is that - was that a truthful representation of what he knew at the time? Or was he just trying to make Omarosa feel better?
MS. SANDERS: As I said moments ago, the President had had a direct conversation with General Kelly; asked him to try to work things out. If it didn't, he gave General Kelly the full authority to make decisions about hiring and firing, including with respect to Omarosa.
Q So he was making her feel better? Because he knew what had happened and he knew he'd approved it.
MS. SANDERS: On the timing, I think is - he knew that it was certainly a possibility. But as to the fact whether or not General Kelly had called the President, I don't think he had at that point.
Steve.
Q Yes, Sarah. Repeatedly, we've heard the President declare that the so-called "Islamic State terror group" has been practically vanquished, especially in Iraq and Syria. Well, the Defense Department yesterday - the lead inspector general for Operation Inherent Resolve, in fact - says that their forces are estimated to be anywhere between 28,600 and 31,600 fighters, which would be about the number that they had at their peak. So has ISIS been practically vanquished?
MS. SANDERS: Certainly we know that the caliphate has been practically destroyed. Certainly there are - continue to be ISIS fighters, and that's why we continue to take all of those threats seriously and look for ways every single day to defeat them and protect American people and our allies
Q Can I go back to the race question again? I get that you can cite things - statistics that might be positive statistics for policies the President has done vis-à-vis African Americans and other minorities.
What do you say to people who look at the pattern of comments that the President has made, specifically about African Americans, and feel like he is singling those folks out because of their race? Are they missing something? Are they deluding themselves? What do you say to them?
Because there are lots of people out there who look at the pattern and say, "Yes, he says negative things about a lot of people but there seems to be a particular pattern of singling out African Americans and commenting in particular about their intelligence, or lack thereof, and their looks."
MS. SANDERS: I certainly don't think so. I think, as I said, the President has said similar things about a number of individuals, certainly, that are not African American or any other minority. I can simply talk to you about the policies and the person that the President is.
I think if, again, the person that a lot of his critics say he is certainly wouldn't have been in business with him for decades. Certainly you wouldn't have had Bill and Hillary Clinton - they attended his wedding. A number of Democrats begged him for campaign contributions. I mean, if they were who he said he was, why did they have these relationships with him?
I think it is very convenient that these accusations started once the President became someone running for office. He has shown time and time again, through his actions, through his policies, that he wants to be a President for all Americans; that he wants to do everything he can to make America better and not just for a certain group of people, but for everybody.
I think that has made a number of comments about plenty of people. And to try to single that out to one group is, frankly, silly, because I think if you did a comparison, he's probably got a lot more nasty things out there about some other people.
Q Do you think all of those are appropriate too?
MS. SANDERS: I'm sorry?
Q Do you think that - I mean -
MS. SANDERS: Look, the President is somebody who's always going to fight fire with fire. This is something that isn't new. And it's something the American people knew when they voted for him, and they overwhelmingly elected him to be the President of the United States. And since he took office, he has governed in a way that is helping all Americans.
Frankly, if we want to look at who's creating divisions in the country, I think the media has done more to divide this country - certainly far more than this President ever has - by elevating people like the author of this book, by focusing on a sparsely attended rally instead of all of the policies that this administration and that this President are enacting that helping people - not just on the economy but on school choice, on prison reform that's disproportionately affected African Americans and Hispanics. This is a President who is governing to help all Americans. And I think we'd all be better off if the media gave that just a little bit more attention.
Jon.
Q Yeah, thanks a lot, Sarah. You expressed how you feel about Omarosa since the publication of this book. How was she viewed by fellow staff members here at the White House while she worked here? Did she pull her own weight? Was she viewed as untrustworthy? Did you trust her? I'm just trying to get a sense about whether your view of her has changed with publication of this book.
MS. SANDERS: Certainly I've expressed some disappointment. I'm not going to get into a back-and-forth on personal feelings that I have with a former colleague. I think that the focus not only of my time here, but of this administration, is looking forward in how we can actually implement policies that matter to the American people - not who liked who in the building behind me.
Brian.
Q Different topic, if you can, and then a follow-up. When - the first time the Mueller investigation indicted some Russians, this administration sanctioned those Russians. The 12 that were recently indicted - the 12 Russian nationals - does this administration plan to also level sanctions against them?
MS. SANDERS: I don't have any announcements on that front right now.
Q Quick follow-up. You said you would like everyone to stop talking about this particular subject, including the administration. So are you saying you would like the President to stop tweeting about Omarosa?
MS. SANDERS: I think if the media continues to give it wall-to-wall coverage, the administration, in some cases, will be forced to respond. But I think it would be better off for all of us to walk away and focus on some things that matter.
Raquel.
Q Hi, Sarah. Thank you so much. I want to ask question about Secretary Mattis. He's in Brazil right now, and visiting other countries in South America. And how much does his trip have to do with countering the growing presence of China in the region?
MS. SANDERS: Certainly, we have a lot of shared values with the countries that he's visiting. We would always like to be the priority partner for those countries. And we hope that those relationships will continue to develop. And we'll keep you posted if he has any updates from the trip.
Last question. Steven.
Q Bearing in mind that the Trump campaign's announcement that it's pursuing arbitration of Omarosa necessitates attention and a major national focus, can we talk - and can I ask you once more about the practice of signing people to nondisclosure agreements? Because let me ask you what it says about the expressions of loyalty, or lack thereof, of people who work behind that wall. Why do people need to be contractually obligated to forever after, in perpetuity, never say anything negative about the President, any member of his family, any product they should produce? Why is that necessary?
MS. SANDERS: Look, again, it's common in a lot of -
Q Of corporations. To protect the corporate interest. What's the particular necessity of this?
MS. SANDERS: Also, despite contrary opinion, it's actually very normal. And every administration prior to the Trump administration has had NDAs, particularly specific for anyone that had a security clearance. This White House is certainly no -
Q To protect national security and classified -
Q - the distinction between classified and non -
Q (Inaudible) in keeping someone like Omarosa silent? Because right now, what the Trump campaign is doing is he's forcing her, essentially, to defend herself and potentially even pay damages. Why is that necessary?
MS. SANDERS: That's a question you would have to ask the Trump campaign. That's certainly not a question that I can answer as somebody that's in an official government capacity.
Thanks so much guys. Have a great day.
- Contact: White House
- Press Office
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