The reporter who clashed with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a press briefing last week over the Trump administration’s migrant policies said on Sunday that he stands by his comments.
“I’m extremely angry with this administration that has lied to me, continues to lie to me,” Playboy reporter Brian Karem told CNN’s “Reliable Sources.”
Last week, Karem went after Sanders during a press briefing where she blamed Democrats for the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, which has resulted in migrant children being separated from their parents when apprehended at the border.
“Come on, Sarah. You’re a parent. Don’t you have any empathy for what these people are going through?” he asked.
Sanders dodged the question, saying, “I know you want to get some more TV time, but that’s not what this is about.”
“These people have nothing. They come to the border with nothing and they throw children in cages,” Karem continued. “You’re a parent. You’re a parent of young children. Don’t you have any empathy for what they go through?”
Trump officials have defended the immigration policy and argued it helps deter future migrants from crossing the border.
On Sunday, Karem doubled down on his comments.
“I have an apology to make. I apologize to every human being who’s had to suffer, who has less than I do, and I did not come to the table sooner. I’m sorry to those people for waiting so long and holding my temper,” Karem said.
“I’m sorry that as a report that for so long … I was struggling so hard to do my job I forgot that my job is to comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable and ask questions for those who have no voice,” Karem added.
Karem said criticisms that he and other journalists are merely trying to be in the spotlight are unfounded.
“It’s not legitimate. At some point in time, we have been playing by the old rules for so long that we forgot where we are with this administration,” Karem said.