CNN analyst and American Urban Radio Networks White House correspondent April Ryan said Thursday that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has to be fired, claiming the press secretary lied to the American people concerning the Russia probe. Ryan, appearing emotionally distraught and angry, also suggested to CNN host Erin Burnett that Sanders is in-part responsible for threats she and her colleagues in the media have faced.
“Not only does [Sanders] not have any credibility left, she lied,” Ryan said on CNN’s “OutFront.” “She outright lied and the people, the American people can’t trust her. They can’t trust what’s said from the president’s mouthpiece, spokesperson, from the people’s house. Therefore, she should be let go. She should be fired. End of story.”
“When there is a lack of credibility there, you have to start and start lopping the heads off,” she continued. “It’s ‘Fire Me Thursday’ or ‘Fire Me Good Friday,’ — she needs to go.”
Ryan was referring to Sanders telling the press in May of 2017 that “‘countless’ FBI agents had lost confidence in Comey despite one reporter’s assertion that the ‘vast majority’ of them supported his leadership,” Fox News reported, adding, “According to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office, Sanders told investigators her claim was a ‘slip of the tongue’ and was ‘in the heat of the moment,’ admitting that it was not founded on anything.”
Sanders addressed the discrepancy on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday. “It was the heat of the moment, meaning that it wasn’t a scripted talking point. I’m sorry that I wasn’t a robot like the Democratic Party,” the press secretary told George Stephanopoulos.
Ryan continued to rail against Sanders, suggesting the press secrecy has sparked threats against her and her colleagues, allegedly prompting Ryan to get personal security and her colleagues to have moved from their homes.
“Sarah plays a dangerous game in that room,” Ryan said. “The game is dangerous because she is lying to the American public. Then, on top of all that, she says the press is fake when she’s faking reports from the people’s house. She’s calling us fake? We’ve had colleagues who’ve had to move from their houses because of threats. I have to have security because of being called ‘fake’ and a ‘loser’ and all sorts of things from that White House. It’s time for her to go.”
Ryan and Sanders have butted heads in the press briefing room on more than one occasion. After the press secretary was badgered by the CNN analyst last June, Sanders asked Ryan to stop “rudely” interrupting her colleagues and to “be quiet long enough” so she could answer her question.
Last May, Ryan was corrected by a colleague at CNN for spreading false information about President Trump. “Reporters on the South Lawn have confirmed the [Donald Trump] was heckled and booed when he came out to celebrate America,” the White House correspondent claimed on Twitter.
CNN’s Noah Gray countered Ryan directly, tweeting, “This is not true. There was a protester who shouted at Trump and was booed.”
WATCH: