Our live coverage has ended. Scroll through the posts below to read more about today’s White House press briefing.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked Tuesday whether she has any doubts about the authenticity of the recording Omarosa Manigault Newman released of a phone call with President Trump. She left no room for interpretation.
“I don’t,” she responded.
Trump on this audio tape said he did not know that Manigault Newman, a former White House aide and reality TV star, had been fired by White House chief of staff John Kelly.
Listen to the call below:
Asked whether President Trump had ever used the N-word, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders would not definitively say, instead referring reporters to his tweet.
Pressed specifically on whether any recording of the President using the racial epithet exists, Sander said: “I can’t guarantee anything, but I can tell you that the President addressed this question directly.”
She noted that Trump is someone who is “fighting for all Americans,” and his policies are helpful “particularly for African Americans,” citing African American unemployment statistics.
Watch more:
A reporter just asked White House press secretary Sarah Sanders if she has signed a non-disclosure agreement, also known as an NDA.
Here’s what she said:
“I’m not going back and forth who signs an NDA. I can tell you it’s common for a lot of employees to sign NDAs, including in government, particularly with anyone with a security clearance.”
Why we’re talking about NDAs:
Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House aide and reality TV star, claims in her forthcoming book that President Trump’s re-election campaign offered her a lucrative contract in exchange for her signature on a strict non-disclosure agreement after her ouster from the administration last year
On Monday, Trump alleged Manigault Newman was already bound by an agreement not to speak about her time at the White House.
“Wacky Omarosa already has a fully signed Non-Disclosure Agreement!” he wrote.
Here’s more from Sanders:
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders claimed Tuesday that President Trump’s description of his former aide as a “dog” had “nothing to do with race and everything to do with the President calling out someone’s lack of integrity.”
The “dog” comment was one of many insults the President has used to describe prominent African-Americans, but Sanders insisted Trump insults people of other races as well.
Asked about President Trump’s language on Twitter today calling Omarosa Manigault Newman a “crazed, crying lowlife” and a “dog,” press secretary Sarah Sanders sought to defend the President, claiming he was “voicing frustration.”
“I think the President is certainly voicing his frustration with the fact that this person has shown a complete lack of integrity,” Sanders said, noting that he was “particularly” frustrated with her actions following her time at the White House.
On why was she hired: Sanders said Trump “wanted to give her a chance.”
She added that Trump later gave White House chief of staff John Kelly “full authority to carry out the decision to let her go.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders brought defense officials to today’s press briefing to discuss the possible remains of US troops killed during the Korean War. The remains were recently brought back to the US from North Korea.
Officials are now trying to identify the remains.
Kelly McKeague, the director of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, is answering reporters’ questions now. Here’s his opening remarks to reporters:
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is expected to hold a press briefing at 2:30 p.m. ET today.
Here are some questions reporters may ask her:
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders will hold a press briefing this afternoon.
It’s the first briefing since President Trump returned from his 11-day working vacation at his New Jersey golf club.
A lot happened during that vacation. Here’s a look at some of them:
