President Donald Trump is "committed to a free press," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday, despite the commander-in-chief questioning on Twitter whether the "corrupt" and "fake" news media should be stripped of credentials.
"The fact that I'm taking questions and the president took questions from your colleagues just two hours ago demonstrates that this White House's commitment to being accessible and to providing information to the American public," she said at the daily briefing.
"At the same time, the press has a responsibility to put out accurate information."
Trump raised the issue when he tweeted earlier Wednesday that 91 percent of the "network news about me is negative (fake)."
Sanders noted two reports in the past week: The New York Times slamming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday for not being present when Trump announced the U.S. pull-out from the Iran nuclear agreement and The Washington Post's report Sunday that the president and first lady Melania Trump were "often apart" in the White House or on regular visits to Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
"Just [Tuesday], The New York Times accused the secretary of state for being AWOL, when he was flying across the globe to bring three Americans home," Sanders said. "There is an outrageous claim.
"Just earlier this week: The Washington Post accused the first lady of not living in the White House.
"That outrageous claim was then repeated again in this room.
"We are here," she said. "We are taking questions.
"We are doing everything we can to provide regular and constant information to the American people.
"There is a responsibility by you guys to provide accurate information — and we'll continue to try to work with you as I'm doing right here and right now and as the president did just a couple of hours ago."
Trump later ripped the Times for the Pompeo story on Twitter:
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