White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked if she could justify President Donald Trump's tweets attacking the hosts of "Morning Joe" to her own children during Thursday's combative White House press briefing.
Trump touched off yet another firestorm on Thursday when he tweeted personal attacks on MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that included a charge that the latter was bleeding from a face-lift when she visited Mar-a-Lago last year. He was condemned by much of the press and politicians on both sides of the aisle for his language.
Hallie Jackson, an MSNBC host and reporter, asked Sanders about the issue from a personal perspective.
"You have stood here and talked about your family from this podium," Jackson said. "Are you going to tell your kids this behavior's OK?"
"When it comes to role models, as a person of faith, I think we all have one perfect role model, and when I'm asked that question, I point to God," Sanders said. "I point to my faith, and that's where I would tell my kids to look. None of us are perfect, and certainly there's only one that is."
Sanders, who spent the majority of the brief press conference being asked about the tweets, also defended Trump by saying he was a "fighter" who "fights fire with fire."
MSNBC reporter Kristen Welker asked her if Trump's comments were the kind that could "unify the country," in light of his call for the nation to come together after the shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R., La.).
"I think that the president is pushing back against people who attack him day after day after day," Sanders said. "Where's the outrage on that?"
Welker said she understood the point but wondered if Trump should be held to a higher standard than "cable news anchors." She also noted Trump's past attacks on former President Barack Obama, including the infamous "birther" controversy.
"The American people elected a fighter. They didn't elect somebody to sit back and do nothing," Sanders said. "They knew what they were getting when they voted for Donald Trump, and he won overwhelmingly."
Later, Sanders said that "Morning Joe" had attacked her as well, but she said she did not "cry foul because of it."
"Everyone wants to make this an attack on a woman," she said.