Sanders: Trump will fight ‘fire with fire’

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday defended President Trump’s early morning series of tweets slamming “Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

During an appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” Sanders said there have been “an outrageous number of personal attacks” on Trump and his staff members on “Morning Joe.”

“I don’t think that the president’s ever been someone who gets attack and doesn’t push back. There have been an outrageous number of personal attacks, not just to him, but to frankly everyone around him,” Sanders told host Bill Hemmer.

“This is a president who fights fire with fire. And certainly will not be allowed to be bullied by a liberal media and the liberal elites within the media or Hollywood or anywhere else,” she added.

Asked about Trump’s Mika tweets on Fox, Sarah Sanders says, “This is a president who fights fire with fire” pic.twitter.com/np0rVHvMvC

— David Mack (@davidmackau) June 29, 2017

Trump on Thursday morning referred to Brzezinski as “low I.Q. Crazy Mika” and said she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” the last time he saw the host.

“I heard poorly rated Morning Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!” Trump wrote in two separate tweets.

The president’s comments quickly faced backlash from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

When asked by Hemmer if Trump’s comments were necessary, Sanders said it’s necessary for the president to push back against attacks against him.

“Look, I think what’s necessary is to push back against unnecessary attacks on the president. … I’ve seen far worse things come out of that show, again directed not just at the president, but everyone around him. Personal attacks. Mean, hateful attacks,” she said.

The president, Sanders said, will not “sit back” and take the attacks. 

Hemmer also asked Sanders if she wanted to address whether Trump’s comments about Brzezinski were too personal.

“I think I have addressed that as much as I can in terms of the president, again, isn’t going to be somebody who’s bullied and allows people, himself, and those around him, to be personally attacked,” Sanders responded.

The White House aide said she has been called names on “Morning Joe.”

“I’ve been called a lot of names on that show that don’t have anything to do with my beliefs, or ideology, or policy. But they’re personal attacks,” she said.

Sanders said she is not aware of any backstory that could be behind Trump’s tweets about the MSNBC hosts.