White House press secretary Sara Huckabee Sanders Wednesday denied that President Donald Trump is escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea with his statements, including in his blunt address to the United Nations.
"Everybody wants to talk about Donald Trump as escalating things ― he isn't," Sanders told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.
"North Korea is, but we have to have somebody who is going to stand up and say enough is enough. The president is doing that. He is going to protect Americans. Protect our allies and stand with our allies. And that's what he was elected to do, and that's what he is going to do every single day."
Her comments came after Trump gave a shout out to the show, tweeting:
The show's hosts also had given Trump favorable reviews for his speech.
Sanders also defended the president's use of the nickname "Rocket Man" for North Korean President Kim Jong Un on Twitter and during his first address to the United Nations' General Assembly on Tuesday, calling the nickname a "Trump original."
"He is a master at branding," said Sanders. "This is a problem we have been dealing with for 20 years. Americans wanted somebody, a strong leader, somebody who wasn't going to put up with it anymore. That's one of the reasons I think Donald Trump won. They saw strength. They saw somebody who was not going to apologize for America. Was not going to apologize for America's sovereignty and our success."
Trump's strength was on "full display" during his speech, said Sanders, and it was "a great reminder why people supported him and certainly why he is going to be very successful."
The president promised in his speech to always put America first and Sanders said Wednesday that she does not believe that was always done in the past.
"Certainly I don't think the previous administration was always putting America first," she said. "I think there was a lot of, as I said apologizing for our success. That's not something that America wants. That's not what our country was founded on."
Trump also railed against the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, calling it a "huge embarrassment," and Sanders said that while "you never want to get ahead of the president" when it comes to any announcement, his feelings about the deal are not a secret.
When show co-host Brian Kilmeade asked if an announcement would be made by Oct. 15 about the deal, Sanders said the plans may change, but Trump does not "shy away" from what he thinks.
"He has been very clear, very consistent that he does not like this deal, that it was bad for America," said Sanders. "[This is] something that he aimed to change once he got into office."
"Iran would actually probably be high-fiving" over the deal, Kilmeade said, but Sanders insisted that as long as Trump is president, Iran won't be doing that.
Sanders also talked about the continuing Obamacare repeal dilemma, following late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel's claims against a measure proposed by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy.
Kimmel accused Cassidy, R-Louisiana, of lying to him about his intentions for healthcare reform, and for coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, including Kimmel's son, who was born with a serious heart condition.
"I certainly respect the position that he is in as a parent," said Sanders, the mother of three children. "He is speaking for the protection of his kid, as he should do. But, at the same time, we have to have a program that actually works and we know that that's not Obamacare. It's simply not sustainable. It's collapsing."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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