Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Republican strategist calls Sarah Huckabee Sanders ‘a congenital liar’ with a ‘shrivelled husk left in her soul’

The President's spokeswoman defended his use of the word 'Pocahontas'

Andrew Buncombe
New York
Tuesday 28 November 2017 19:19 GMT
Comments
Rick Wilson: Sarah Huckabee Sanders has a 'tiny shriveled husk left in her soul'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Republican political strategist has launched a scathing attack on White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders - saying she may only have a “shrivelled husk left in her soul” after defending Donald Trump’s use of a racial slur.

The President triggered widespread outcry when he used the word “Pocahontas” in reference to Senator Elizabeth Warren during a White House ceremony to honour Navajo military veterans. Ms Sanders later defended the President, saying people were more offended by Ms Warren’s “lying about her heritage to advance her career”.

Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist and frequent critic of the Trump administration, said he thought Ms Sanders knew she was not speaking the truth but had done so anyway.

“The reason she does that is because her job is contingent upon her being a serial congenital liar in defence of Donald Trump’s latest outrages,” he said on CNN.

“I mean, she probably has some like tiny, shrivelled husk left in her soul where she realizes this is the wrong thing to do. But she does it anyway because otherwise they’ll replace her.”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders slams press at White House briefing

Mike Shields, a former senior aide at the Republican National Committee, sought to defend Ms Sanders, saying it was the job of all White House press secretaries to step behind the podium and advocate “on behalf of the president”.

Yet Mr Wilson was quick to double down his assault.

He said: “Few presidents go out and c*** on the dignity and legacy of people like these code talkers, these heroic veterans, and then send their press secretary out to answer questions in a way that isn’t saying, ‘Wow, the president regrets what he said today, he truly wishes he had not said that’.”

He said Ms Sanders sought to bury people under an “avalanche of horses***”.

“I get that’s her job,” he said. “The White House press secretary has to defend the indefensible. In very few other cases in our modern history, has the press secretary had to go out and defend someone who is slinging stuff that is demonstrably racially charged.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in