Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Leave White House at End of the Month
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving her position at the end of the month, President Donald Trump announced in a series of tweets on Thursday afternoon.
Sanders has been with the Trump White House for two and a half years. The president thanked Sanders for her time with his administration.
“After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas….” Trump wrote. “….She is a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job! I hope she decides to run for Governor of Arkansas – she would be fantastic. Sarah, thank you for a job well done!”
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The president echoed his tweets during a press conference Thursday afternoon where Huckabee was in attendance. After singing her praises, he invited her to speak.
“I’ll try not to get emotional as crying can make us look weak sometimes, right?” Secretary Sanders joked as she took the podium. “This has been the honor of a lifetime, the opportunity of a lifetime. I couldn’t be prouder to have had the opportunity to serve our country and particularly work for this president.”
“It’s truly the most special experience. The only one that I could think could top it is the fact that I’m a mom,” she continued. “I have three amazing kids and I’m going to spend a little more time with them. In the meantime, I’m going to continue to be one of the most outspoken and loyal supporters of the president and his agenda.”
Following the press conference, Sanders thanked the president, tweeting: “I am blessed and forever grateful to @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to serve and proud of everything he’s accomplished. I love the President and my job. The most important job I’ll ever have is being a mom to my kids and it’s time for us to go home. Thank you Mr. President!”
I am blessed and forever grateful to @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to serve and proud of everything he’s accomplished. I love the President and my job. The most important job I’ll ever have is being a mom to my kids and it’s time for us to go home. Thank you Mr. President! https://t.co/wHNnq06AMg
– Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 13, 2019
Other government officials weighed on the announcement of Huckabee’s departure.
“Thank you to @PressSec Sarah Sanders for her service to our Administration & our nation! She’s a patriot who worked tirelessly every day to deliver on @POTUS’ America First Agenda. @SecondLady and I wish Sarah, Bryan & the kids all the best in their future endeavors! THANK YOU!” Vice President Mike Pence added in a tweet shortly after Trump’s.
“Well, @realDonaldTrump is losing @PressSec who is a great one and I say that with as much objectivity as Fake News CNN has toward @POTUS,” Sanders’ father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said in a tweet as well.
Before serving as White House press secretary, Sanders was deputy White House press secretary. She took over for Sean Spicer in May 2017.
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During her time as White House press secretary, Sanders has been a staunch defender of the administration and was a frequent target of Hollywood. Her combative tone, toward the media and CNN’s Jim Acosta in particular, was heavily criticized. However, it earned her plaudits from right-leaning figures like James Woods, who called her the “Best thing to happen to American journalism.”
At the 2018 White House Correspondents dinner, host Michelle Wolf attacked Sanders, comparing her to Aunt Lydia from “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
“I have to admit I’m a little starstruck,” Wolf said in her remarks. “Sarah, I love you as Aunt Lydia in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.'”
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She didn’t stop there. “Every time Sarah steps up to the podium, I get excited, because I’m not really sure what we’re gonna get,” she said. “You know, a press briefing, a bunch of lies, or divided into softball teams.”
Sanders has also been a target of actor/artist Jim Carrey, Chelsea Handler, Kathy Griffin, and Chrissy Teigen among others.
In April, former ABC News reporter and White House correspondent Sam Donaldson accused the administration of transparent lying, Sanders in particular.
“Except for Ron Ziegler, who lied for Richard Nixon, I’ve never seen anything like this with Sarah Sanders,” Donaldson told Anderson Cooper on “AC360.” “And there’s a difference. Ziegler lied about one thing: the question if the president of the United States was covering up the Watergate burglary.”
In recent months, White House press briefings have been infrequent. A successor for Sanders has yet to be named.
See the tweets below:
After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2019
….She is a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job! I hope she decides to run for Governor of Arkansas – she would be fantastic. Sarah, thank you for a job well done!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2019
Thank you to @PressSec Sarah Sanders for her service to our Administration & our nation! She’s a patriot who worked tirelessly every day to deliver on @POTUS’ America First Agenda. @SecondLady and I wish Sarah, Bryan & the kids all the best in their future endeavors! THANK YOU!
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) June 13, 2019
Well, @realDonaldTrump is losing @PressSec who is a great one and I say that with as much objectivity as Fake News CNN has toward @POTUS https://t.co/Gxnrwc43pP
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 13, 2019
Read original story Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Leave White House at End of the Month At TheWrap
