CNN has hired reporter April Ryan, who has repeatedly clashed with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in recent days, as a political analyst.
Ryan, American Urban Radio Networks' White House correspondent, is one of CNN's latest high-profile hires, according to Politico.
Ryan was recently the center of controversy when she and Spicer got into a heated argument after the White House spokesman told her to stop shaking her head as he was answering a question. The comment led journalists to condemn Spicer and suggest his comments were racist and sexist because Ryan is an Afircan-American woman. Media figures also defended Ryan as a journalist without an agenda.
Ryan subsequently said that Spicer has a problem with female reporters.
Back in February, Ryan accused President Trump of making a racially-charged comment that he never said.
"When he was Candidate Trump, he said things like, you know, 'We made this country,' meaning white America, not necessarily black," Ryan said during a White House press briefing.
"I don't know why you would say that. What do you mean?" Spicer asked.
"No, no, no. He said that. I heard him say that," Ryan said.
Ryan could not provide evidence that Trump made the statement when asked to do so. Nonetheless, she persisted that Trump said the remark and told people to look it up themselves.
@Skylar_Writer look it up and you will find it
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) February 21, 2017
She appeared to accuse her critics on social media of being bigoted as people were probing the veracity of her allegation.
Bye social media today. The trolls are out of there caves and their Archie Bunker huts. Lol lol lol
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) February 22, 2017
In addition to Ryan, CNN also brought on several prominent national security figures to be network analysts.
CNN hired Lisa Monaco, the former homeland security and chief counterterrorism adviser to President Obama, as a senior national security analyst; John Kirby, the former State Department and Pentagon spokesman, as a military and diplomatic analyst; and Michael Hayden, the four-star general who was the director of the NSA and CIA, as a national security analyst.
CNN host Brian Stelter confirmed the news on Twitter.
Per Playbook, you'll be seeing more of @AprilDRyan on @CNN, she's joining the network as an analyst: pic.twitter.com/XTDhnnuGzf
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 3, 2017