Sarah Huckabee Sanders Loses It When Reporters Call Out Trump’s Silence On Russia Sanctions

Sarah Huckabee Sanders couldn’t keep it together when reporters asked her about why Trump has said nothing, and no official statement has been issued about the new sanctions leveled against Russian oligarchs.

Read About Ivanka Trump's Plotting To Return To The White House On THE DAILY

Video:

Transcript:

Q: Thank you, Sarah. On the sanctions, why hasn’t the president spoken out personally about the sanctions and the behavior enumerated by the administration today?

Huckabee Sanders: The president has. It’s ridiculous that you guys say that. Just earlier this week, the president stood on a stage in an open press room and talked about how he had been tough on Russia and he’s continued to do that through action. And we’ve continued to do that through a number of administration officials, but to say that the president hasn’t addressed it directly, he did that while standing on stage with the leaders of the Baltic countries in front of, I believe, almost every single one of you earlier this week. So that’s not a fair or accurate statement.

Q: On these sanctions imposed today, he’s not spoken out and there’s been no statement issued under his name and he’s not spoken out specifically about the issues enumerated by the administration. He hasn’t condemned the alleged subversion of western democracies, the activity in Syria, a number of things, cyber crimes, all the things that your administration has outlined. He said he’s been tough on Russia.

Huckabee Sanders: We speak on behalf of the president, day in, day out. Again, the president has signed off and directed these actions. I think that that speaks volumes, actually, on how the president feels and exactly underscores what he said earlier this week when he said no one has been tougher on Russia.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders immediately got defensive and lost control as soon as she was asked about Trump’s silence on the sanctions. Trump hasn’t spoken about the sanctions directly. There was no official statement from the White House on the latest sanctions, and Trump has a history of blowing up at anyone who does try to get tough on Russia.

The White House protests a bit too much anytime that their behavior toward Russia is mentioned, and Huckabee Sanders just added more fuel to the Russia fire.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association