Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders | Eastern North Carolina Now

    MS. SANDERS: Look, I can't get into specifics that will impact the election. But I can tell you that the President wants to see more people that support his policies elected than not.

    Phil.

    Q Sarah, it's now been four weeks since Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The President said early on that, if the Saudis are found responsible, there would be "severe punishment." That's his word. It's now obvious to the world that Khashoggi was murdered, it was premeditated, it was by the Saudis. Why has there been no action?

    MS. SANDERS: Look, the President met last week with CIA Director Gina Haspel, after having gathered additional intelligence on her overseas trip. And the administration is weighing different options, and we'll make an announcement about what the decision of that action is.

    Q But there's been no action, Sarah. Is he considering any actual action?

    MS. SANDERS: Like I just said, the administration is considering what action we will take moving forward based on that information and the briefing that the President received last week.

    Jill.

    Q Sarah, two things for you. I want to go back to the tone in question, because the President said he was planning to tone down his rhetoric this week. But at his rallies since the suspicious packages began being mailed, the President has called out Maxine Waters by name at his rallies. He's stood there as his supporters chant "Lock her up," in reference to Hillary Clinton, who he continues to called "Crooked Hillary Clinton." Will the President stop using that kind of language in light of the fact that these individuals were targeted by this attack?

    MS. SANDERS: The President is going to continue to draw contrasts. Let's not forget that these same Democrats have repeatedly attacked the President, whether it was Eric Holder saying "Kick them when they're down"; whether it was Hillary Clinton saying "You can't be civil until Democrats have control of Congress"; or whether it was Maxine Waters, who encouraged her supporters to get up not just in the President's face, but all administration officials' faces.


    Those actions were from those Democrats. The President is going to continue to fight back when these individuals not only attack him, but attack members of his administration and supporters of his administration.

    Q And then (inaudible) follow up on something else. Why does the President feel like it's necessary to send active-duty troops to the border when he's already sent National Guardsmen down there who are doing the exact same job as the active-duty troops would be able to do?

    MS. SANDERS: The President's number-one job and number-one priority is to protect the safety and security of Americans, and he's going to do what he deems necessary in order to do that. For specifics regarding that, I'd encourage you to tune into the press conference this afternoon.

    John.

    Q Thank you, Sarah. Two brief questions. The first, a follow-up about the question on Brazil. Up until a few months ago, you used to give us readouts of the President's calls with world leaders, including congratulatory calls to newly elected leaders such as President Macron, Chancellor Merkel. Did the President, or does the President plan to, make a call to President-elect Bolsonaro?

    MS. SANDERS: He did. And he spoke with him last night. I actually sent a note to the White House press pool. If you didn't receive that, I'll make sure that you do after the briefing is over.

    Q All right. My other question, Sarah -

    MS. SANDERS: Sorry. Second question.

    Q - is this: With the election eight days away, some Republicans, such as Mr. Hugin, the nominee for the Senate in New Jersey, do not mention the President at all, do not invoke his name or image. Others, such as Mr. DeWine - running for governor of Ohio - have him in brochures and pictures. Is the President aware that some candidates run against him? And is this going to enter into his decision where to go in the final days?

    MS. SANDERS: That's a decision for individual candidates to make. I think the President has an incredible story to tell. He's had a historic first two years - a number of successes that I think any Republican running for office should be proud of.

    Jim.

    Q Sarah, yeah, I wanted to ask you - David Lapan, who was a spokesperson over at DHS under General Kelly - Chief of Staff Kelly - a former Marine who worked at the Pentagon, tweeted this morning: "I dealt w/ the news media nearly every day. I know quite a bit about the press and know this - they are NOT the enemy of the American people." Shouldn't you reserve the term "enemy" for people who are actually the enemy of the United States, rather than journalists?

    MS. SANDERS: The President is not referencing all media. He's talking about the growing amount of fake news that exists in the country, and the President is calling that out.

    Q May I ask a follow-up?

    Q (Inaudible.)

    MS. SANDERS: Sure. Go ahead.

    Q May I ask a follow-up, please? May I ask a follow-up, please?

    MS. SANDERS: Go ahead, Jim.

    Q Since you mentioned that, the President said this morning, "The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly." Can you state for the record which outlets that you and the President regard as the enemy of the people?

    MS. SANDERS: I'm not going to walk through a list, but I think those individuals probably know who they are.

    Q Would that include my outlet, which received a bomb last week?


    MS. SANDERS: I don't think it's necessarily specific to a general - broad generalization of a full outlet. At times, I think there's individuals that the President would be referencing.

    Jordan.

    Q So you're not going to state for the record then - I mean, if the President is going to say the fake news media are the enemy of the people, and if you're going to stand there and continue to say that there are some journalists, some news outlets in this country that meet that characterization, shouldn't you have the guts, Sarah, to state which outlets, which journalists are the enemy of the people?

    MS. SANDERS: I think it's irresponsible of a news organization like yours to blame responsibility of a pipe bomb that was not sent by the President - not just blame the President, but blame members of his administration for those heinous acts. I think that is outrageous, and I think it's irresponsible.

    Q The bomber was caught, Sarah. We didn't say the President -

    MS. SANDERS: Jim, I've given you three questions.

    Jordan, go ahead.

    Q Thanks, Sarah. The President has talked multiple times about how the Republican lawmakers are going to protect preexisting conditions if they keep control of Congress. But the administration is supporting a lawsuit that would undercut those protections under Obamacare and take in a couple of regulatory actions to that effect as well.

    So how do you square those two stances? And what's the plan - the Republican plan for protecting preexisting -

    MS. SANDERS: Look, the President's healthcare plan that he's laid out covers preexisting conditions. The President wants to lower premiums to make healthcare more affordable. Nobody will be charged higher premiums if they keep their coverage, and nobody will be denied coverage under the President.

    Emerald.

    Q Thank you, Sarah. On Chancellor Merkel's announcement that she won't - she'll be stepping down as party leader and won't seek to rerun as Chancellor, how does that - what is the reaction from the administration, and how does that affect the relationship with Germany going forward?

    MS. SANDERS: We're aware of the announcement, and this is an internal matter for the Chancellor and the German people. We're going to continue to work with the Chancellor and continue to develop that relationship.


    Blake.

    Q Sarah, why did the President -

    MS. SANDERS: Blake, go ahead.

    Q - call Andrew Gillum a "thief." Why did the President, in his tweet, call Andrew Gillum a "thief"?

    MS. SANDERS: April, I'll come back to you. Blake, go ahead.

    Q Sarah, thank you. Before you walked out here - just a handful of minutes before you walked out, there was a report that said, should the meeting between President Trump and President Xi of China not go well, in terms of easing the trade war, the trade tensions, then, at that point, the U.S. would go forth with the $257 billion in tariffs. Is that indeed the timetable that the administration is working with here?

    MS. SANDERS: I'm not going to get ahead of the President's meeting, and I hope it goes well.

    April, go ahead.

    Q How important is that -

    MS. SANDERS: Sorry, go ahead.


    Q How important is that meeting then? Because we heard Larry Kudlow say, last week or two weeks ago, that maybe there might not be a lot of detail that comes from it, in terms of trade and going back and forth.

    MS. SANDERS: As the President likes to say, "We'll see what happens." I'm not going to get ahead of the conversation. You have two of the most powerful leaders in the world. I think that's consequential no matter how you look at it. And we'll see what happens when they sit down.

    April, go ahead.

    Q The President was tweeting today. In one tweet, specifically, he called Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for governor in Florida, a "thief." What is his definition of that statement?

    And also, I want to ask you about issues of voter suppression. The President has talked about voter fraud.

    MS. SANDERS: Let me answer your first question. That individual is under FBI investigation. I would refer you to that.

    Q But he's not under investigation; his (inaudible) -