Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders faced a lot of questions today over President Donald Trump‘s tweeting and his shifting opinions about the the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
As the House of Representatives voted today on whether to reauthorize the surveillance program, Trump offered criticism for FISA before expressing support for it two hours later. The first Trump tweet was a clear break from the position embraced by the White House and the GOP, and the development caused significant commotion about whether Trump really knows anything about FISA.
As reporters noted the contraction of Trump’s FISA tweets, Sanders retorted that “we weren’t confused, but some of you guys were.” When ABC’s Cecilia Vega asked Sanders if Trump knows what the program is, she insisted that the answer was yes, and that “this is top of mind for the president and for the administration.” Vega followed up by asking what Trump meant about how his 2016 campaign was “so badly surveilled and abused” under FISA during the election.
Later on, NBC’s Hallie Jackson challenged Sanders by saying emphatically that Trump’s tweets were confusing, and she asked how can White House officials be trusted to represent Trump’s policy positions.
“I think that the premise of your question is completely ridiculous and shows the lack of knowledge that you have on this process,” Sanders responded. “It wasn’t confusing to me. I’m sorry if it was to you.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on President Trump’s tweets about FISA: This issue is top of mind for the President and "he has a full understanding" https://t.co/6GhroFbp4h pic.twitter.com/BbHg6UJDqc
— CNN (@CNN) January 11, 2018