White House counselor Kellyanne Conway rebuked White House reporters on Friday for their apparent fascination with the president, questioning why reporters can’t seem to “begin or finish a sentence without mentioning his name.”
In comments to reporters outside the White House, Conway slammed the media for criticism of President Trump’s decision to revoke the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, one of Trump’s top critics.
{mosads}”Why is everybody so obsessed with the President of the United States that they can’t even begin or finish a sentence without mentioning his name five times? It’s kind of weird,” Conway said.
“And it’s infecting people on the news now who fancy themselves security experts,” she added, before arguing that Brennan had avoided his duty as CIA director by not warning the American people sooner about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
The administration faced heavy criticism this week, including from a dozen former top intelligence officials, over the decision to strip Brennan of his clearance, which many argued was politically motivated.
Conway also accused reporters of presenting their own opinions in their work during her comments, remarking that “you’re in the business of opinion, not news” when a reporter questioned her on plans for Trump’s military parade, which was canceled Friday in a tweet from the president.
Conway, who ran Trump’s campaign during the 2016 general election and joined the White House last year, is a frequent combatant with members of the press and famously coined the term “alternative facts” during an interview last year.
In July, the top White House aide called on members of the White House press corps to show more respect for the office of the president after a CNN reporter was barred from a Rose Garden media event.
“I think that the question isn’t, are the press allowed to ask questions? This president obviously isn’t afraid of questions. We answer them routinely,” Conway said at the time.