April Ryan responds to Trump calling her a ‘loser’: ‘We are not weak’

Journalist April Ryan on Friday responded to President Trump calling her a “loser,” saying that if standing up and asking questions of the president makes her a loser, she’s “been a loser for 21 years.”

“He’s trying to show that he’s strong against the press,” Ryan, a White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, said on CNN. “We’re the ‘enemies.’ He wants to set an example with what he thinks or who he thinks [is] weak. We are not weak.”

{mosads}Ryan’s comments came on a day that Trump went after a number of journalists as he spoke outside the White House. Trump slammed Ryan, who is also a contributor to CNN, as a “loser” who “doesn’t know what the hell she is doing.”

Ryan defended herself during her appearance on CNN, saying that she “is a very highly educated, intelligent reporter who deserved an answer when she lobbed a question of the president who responded.”

“And if that makes me a loser, then I’ve been a loser for 21 years,” she said. 

The White House drew backlash from members of the media this week after it suspended a press pass for CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta.  

The White House has alleged that it suspended Acosta’s credentials for becoming physical with a young intern during a press conference as she tried to take a microphone away from him.

Acosta has denied the allegation and has contended that he handled himself professionally. 

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders doubled down on the Trump administration’s decision to bar Acosta by releasing video of the incident that many quickly dismissed as doctored.

Trump on Friday disputed that the video Sanders shared was manipulated while saying he could revoke more press passes from reporters who don’t show him “respect.”