White House spokesman Sean Spicer defended his decision to exclude certain members of the media at a press gaggle Friday by saying the administration is going to "push back" against false reporting.
Spicer held a smaller session with several reporters in his West Wing office in lieu of the usual press briefing. According to a brief audio clip published by Politico, it was his call to disinvite CNN, The New York Times, Politico, BuzzFeed, and the majority of the foreign press.
"We had a pool and then we expanded it, we added some folks to come cover it," Spicer said when asked why certain press was barred from the session.
When a reporter noted that there was room for others, Spicer said, "It was my decision to decide to expand the pool. We are going to aggressively push back. We're just not going to sit back and let, you know, false narratives, false stories, inaccurate facts get out there."
Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump attacked the media during a speech at CPAC in National Harbor, Md.
"I want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. It's fake, phony, fake," Trump said. "A few days ago, I called the fake news 'the enemy of the people,' and they are. They are the enemy of the people. Because they have no sources. They just make them up when there are none."
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