In a move that, at this point, should shock no one, Kellyanne Conway distorted the facts on Fox News Sunday.
Anchor Chris Wallace asked Conway about a video that White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted Nov. 7. The video was doctored to make it seem as though CNN anchor Jim Acosta intentionally accosted a White House press intern. The White House used the incident as an excuse to pull Acosta’s press credentials.
“What do you mean by edited or, as others are saying, quote, doctored video? He either put his hands on her and grabbed the mic back, or he did not. And he clearly did,” Conway said when Wallace asked her about the press secretary’s use of doctored video.
Wallace didn’t argue that “he really did” touch the intern, “but the video was altered and there are experts who have looked at it,” he added.
“By that do you mean sped up?” Conway asked.
“Oh, well, that’s not altered. That’s sped up,” she clarified, as though that’s something different.
“They do it all the time in sports to see if there’s actually a first down or a touchdown,” she added by way of justification.
Wallace pushed back when Conway attempted to move the conversation away from Acosta, asking whether she thought it was dangerous that the White House used a doctored video to justify banning Acosta.
Conway continued to back up the actions of the White House, reiterating that the press should “respect” the President.
In the same press conference, Donald Trump told PBS’ Yamiche Alcindor that she was asking a “racist” question and told reporter April Ryan to “sit down” in response to a question about voter suppression.
Acosta is not the first reporter the White House has banned from press briefings; CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins was banned from a press conference in July. Trump also barred reporters from BuzzFeed, the Washington Post, and POLITICO from covering his rallies when he was a candidate.
H/T Gizmodo