Margaret Sullivan on the departure of White (Supremacist) House Spokesliar Sarah Huckabee Sanders:
When Sarah Sanders said Thursday that she hopes to be remembered for her transparency and honesty, the first impulse was to laugh.
But lying to citizens while being paid by them really isn’t all that funny.
Sanders took on an impossible job when she became President Trump’s spokeswoman, a job that’s about to reach a welcome conclusion.
She would claim to represent the truth on behalf of a president who lies.
She did it disrespectfully and apparently without shame or an understanding of what the role of White House press secretary should be.
Conservative Andrew Egger:She misled reporters or tried to, and through them, misled the American people. And all with her distinctive curled-lip disdain.
... Her morose, plodding style and Bartlebyesque refusals to grant reporters a single inch of ground poured cold water on news cycle after news cycle that might otherwise have ignited.
The downside, of course, was that she lied a lot. But even here she distinguished herself from Spicer, whose sweaty, frantic tall tales—that was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period!—always invited heaps of instant ridicule. Deadpanning her way through boring, misleading briefing after boring, misleading briefing, Sarah Sanders managed to take most of the fun out of calling her out—as much of a victory as Trump could typically hope for, under the circumstances.Scott Martelle:
You’ll be forgiven if the first thought that crossed your mind at the news that Sarah Huckabee Sanders is quitting as President Trump’s press secretary was, “Oh, does she still work there?”
You’ll also be forgiven if the second thought was, good riddance.
Sanders stepped into the muck-filled shoes left behind by Sean Spicer in July 2017, and deftly continued with lies, half-truths and aggressive attacks on the media.
Which, of course, is just what her boss wanted her to do.
Sanders stopped giving press briefings — near-daily events in previous administrations — three months ago, which is why it felt as though she might have slipped out of the White House by a side exit.
Howard Fineman:
The many #WhiteHouse press secretaries I’ve dealt over the years avoided (usually) mouthing bald-faced lies because they had some regard for law, morality and truth. #SarahSanders could care less. She lies with pride! This is NOT about the “press;” it’s about self-government.— Howard Fineman (@howardfineman) June 13, 2019
Stormy Daniels:
And I hope to be remembered for being a virgin **eyeroll** https://t.co/edfTE5ZCVk— Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) June 14, 2019
Samantha Bee:
BREAKING: Sarah Huckabee Sanders has one last message for the press. #ByeSarah pic.twitter.com/cUZdMWlSL7— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) June 14, 2019
Stephen Colbert:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is leaving, or as Sarah Huckabee Sanders would say, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders is not leaving."— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) June 14, 2019
See also this.
Sanders remembered for transparency and honesty? Uh, hard pass.
