It’s 2018 and Sarah Huckabee Sanders Has Really Upped Her Orwellian Doublespeak Game (Video)
‘I Think the President Wants to Make Clear That He Doesn’t Feel That Anyone Should Be Above the Law’
2018 is less than 40 hours old and yet Sarah Huckabee Sanders can already check off one of her New Year’s resolutions. The White House press secretary Tuesday afternoon may have arrived late as always for the “daily” press briefings she schedules and holds, but when it came time to misinform reporters by massaging her message, Sanders was in rare form.
It may have been Kellyanne Conway who gave America “alternative facts,” but Sarah Huckabee Sanders has mastered the art.
In short, Sanders has really upped her game of Orwellian Doublespeak.
Asked about President Donald Trump’s tweet earlier Tuesday morning, in which he took credit for there being no domestic commercial aviation deaths in 2017 (there were also none in 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009,) Huckabee Sanders insisted “the president has raised the bar for nation’s aviation safety and security.”
Sanders defends Trump’s attempt to take credit for jet planes staying in the sky last year, says “the president has raised the bar for nation’s aviation safety and security.” (He hasn’t) pic.twitter.com/WZxHc20vfe
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 2, 2018
If by “aviation safety and security,†she meant “baggage fees,” and by “raise the bar” she meant “allowed airlines to not disclose up front,” then sure. If not, it was a lie.
And it was a lie. One she was prepared to tell having read it from her notes that apparently had been put through her Doublespeak translator.
President Trump, who Tuesday tweeted falsely he’s been “very strict” with U.S. airlines, has done exactly nothing about aviation safety and security. In fact, all he’s done – or, to be specific, all Secretary of transportation Elaine Chao has one, is reduce or not enforce Obama-era regulations on issues like disclosure of baggage fees. Chao has also sliced penalties against the airlines by more than half.
Huckabee Sanders also was prepared to defend another of President Trump’s Tuesday morning tweets, in which he attacked “Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin.” (To be clear, Abedin has not been charged with any crime, nor has Hillary Clinton.) But Trump called for Abedin to be jailed, called for former FBI Director Jim Comey to be jailed, and eerily asked if the “Deep State Justice Dept” – that’s his own DOJ  – “must finally act.”
Asked if he thought the so-called “deep state” is real, if there is a “shadow government out there actively plotting to sabotage him,” Huckabee Sander was also prepared.
.@PressSec offers word salad in response to a question about what Trump means when he uses the term “deep state.”
“The president finds some of those actions (?) very disturbing and thinks we need to make sure that if there is an issue we would look at that.” pic.twitter.com/kyUOWs81gi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 2, 2018
The Press Secretary told reporters, “Look, the president finds some of those actions very disturbing and thinks we need to make sure that if there is an issue that it’s looked at.”
Huckabee Sanders refused to say there is no “deep state.” (There is no “deep state.”)
And asked if President Trump thinks Huma Abedin should be in jail, Huckabee Sanders let this one fly: “I think the president wants to make clear that he doesn’t feel that anyone should be above the law.”
Asked about Trump’s tweet calling for former Clinton aide Huma Abedin to be put in jail, Sanders says, absurdly, that “I think the president wants to make clear that he doesn’t feel that anyone should be above the law.” pic.twitter.com/hG6vWXcmZ2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 2, 2018
By “anyone,” Huckabee Sanders must have meant to include, “except for: Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, Mike Flynn, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, Joe Arpaio, and many others.”
To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.
Thanks to ThinkProgress’ Aaron Rupar for posting the videos.
If you find NCRM valuable, would you please consider making a donation to support our independent journalism?
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.