Shortly after CBS News reported that White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders may be planning to leave her job at the White House departure at the end of the year, Sanders almost denied it in this tweet:
“Does @CBSNews know something I don’t about my plans and my future? I was at my daughter’s year-end Kindergarten event and they ran a story about my “plans to leave the WH” without even talking to me. I love my job and am honored to work for @POTUS.”
But in light of the current public doubt about Sanders’ credibility, her quasi-denial doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Sanders’ veracity has frequently been challenged by the media. On numerous occasions during White House daily briefings and press conferences, she has made statements that were later found to be false. When asked about them, Sanders has said she misspoke due to a lack of correct information at the time.
Even before the possibility of Sarah Sanders’ White House resignation came to light, one had to wonder whether she likes her job, or whether she hates the position she’s constantly in – that of representing to the media and to the world, a president who is known to frequently lie, change his stories, and speak and act impulsively.
If Sanders likes her job, one would conclude that she must truly believe what she says when she unfailingly defends Trump’s behavior in her position at the White House podium. The other alternative would be that she is aware of Trump’s many lies, exaggerations, and inaccuracies, and herself has a poor relationship with the truth, and even that she is estranged from her conscience.
Sometimes, it’s hard to tell whether Sarah Sanders is making things up on the spot, or whether she’s been briefed. Some examples:
The statement that women traveling with undocumented immigrants through Mexico were “raped at levels that nobody has ever seen before.”
And this one: “Everybody acts like President Trump is the one that came up with this idea. … There are multiple news outlets that have reported” former President Barack Obama ordered wiretapping on Trump.
In addition, Sanders often says that some of the cruel and insulting things Trump has said were “jokes.”
Sarah Sanders has also denied any plans for firing various senior advisors, only for them to be fired shortly thereafter.
Perhaps most famously, Sanders denied that Trump knew about his lawyer’s payment to Stormy Daniels, citing a personal conversation she had had with him. Later, when Trump changed his story and admitted he had known about the payment to keep Daniels from going to the media about their affair, Trump put Sarah Sanders in the position of a deer caught in headlights.
Did Sarah Sanders lie for Trump? Did Trump lie to her when he denied knowledge of the payment, and did she believe him? Sarah Sanders, who always has the President’s back, learned from this that he didn’t always have her back. This realization could certainly be a factor in Sarah Sanders’ decision to leave the White House.
There aren’t many options for ways to respond when the press, on live television, calls you on a falsehood that you had previously insisted was the truth. Either you admit you’ve lied, or you have to throw your boss under the bus by admitting to the press that he gave you the false information.
Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders being misled by Trump on a regular basis, or is she deliberately misleading people when she briefs the White House press every day? If she intentionally lies on behalf of Donald Trump, then she’s lost her credibility. If she doesn’t willingly lie for Trump, and simply believes she’s telling the truth regarding Trump and his escapades, she shows herself to be incredibly gullible – and, again, lacking in credibility.
For a person of integrity, the stress of a job such as Sanders’ could eventually take a toll on one’s health and well-being. Even for a person who lacks integrity, such a job could break the stress barrier. Whichever person Sarah Sanders is, it must be tough to stand in front of the White House press every day, defending a president who is known for propensity to lie on a regular basis. Who could fault Sarah Huckabee Sanders if she wants to leave the White House?
Sarah Sanders, Raj Shah expected to leave White House posts | CBS News [2018-06-14]
Sanders slams report she considered leaving White House | Fox News [2018-06-14]
