Sarah Huckabee Sanders gets grilled in press briefing about Omarosa's fiery new book
- White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders spent Tuesday's press briefing answering questions about Omarosa Manigault Newman's new book about her time in the Trump administration.
- Sanders blamed the media for giving Manigault Newman a platform for her "made-up" claims in her new memoir.
- She also said she couldn't "guarantee" President Donald Trump doesn't say the N-word on any recordings, as Manigault Newman has claimed he did.
Nearly every question during the White House press briefing on Tuesday was about former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman's new book.
As she fielded questions, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders took a shot at the media for giving Manigault Newman a platform for the "made-up" claims in her new memoir, "Unhinged".
"It wasn't until this individual started to negatively attack this president and this administration, and tried to tear this entire place down that she received the type of platform and rollout that she's getting," Sanders said, adding that "it would be great" if they "never had to talk about this again, and we actually got to focus on the real policies and the real things that matter."
Manigault Newman's book contains many fiery hits against Trump's character, calling him a "racist," "misogynist," and a "bigot", based on anecdotes from her year-long stint in the administration, her work on his presidential campaign, and her appearances on his reality TV show, "The Apprentice".
Her claim that she heard a tape of Trump using the N-word while on the set of "The Apprentice" has set off a firestorm from officials, who flatly deny the allegation.
During the briefing, Sanders said she had never heard the president use the word, but couldn't "guarantee" a tape didn't exist with Trump saying it.
Sanders said Manigault Newman "clearly cares more about herself than our country" and that the media is dividing the country by "elevating people like the author of this book."
"She worked here for a year, and didn't have any of these things to say," Sanders said. "In fact, everything she said was quite the opposite - not just in the year that she worked here but the time that she spent on the campaign trail. I think it's really sad what she's doing at this point."
Sanders also defended President Donald Trump's tweets in response to Manigault Newman's claims.
"I think the president is certainly voicing his frustration with the fact that this person has shown a complete lack of integrity, particularly by the actions following her time here at the White House," Sanders said.
Trump had continued his attacks on Manigault Newman on Tuesday morning.
"When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn't work out," he tweeted. "Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!"
Last week, Sanders said in a statement that Newman's book was "riddled with lies and false accusations."