Attorney General Todd Blanche delivered a sharp rebuke to ABC’s Martha Raddatz on Sunday after the “This Week” host suggested he had said the Trump administration would screen people before allowing them onto flights or into the White House.
Blanche immediately rejected her characterization, as reported [1] by The Gateway Pundit.
The clash came amid President Trump’s ban on CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House.
Trump announced the move last Friday, accusing the three media organizations of constantly reporting “FAKE NEWS.”
The dispute quickly moved into federal court.
The outlets filed suit on Monday and requested an emergency order overturning the White House ban, setting up another confrontation between the Trump administration and major media organizations.
A federal judge subsequently issued a temporary order directing the Trump administration to restore White House access for the affected media outlets.
The source did not provide additional details about the order or the court’s reasoning.
Despite that temporary order, CNN was blocked from boarding Air Force One on Saturday while Trump traveled to Tennessee.
The network’s exclusion added another chapter to the fight over which organizations receive access to the president and the White House.
The Gateway Pundit, Red State Media, and Real America’s Voice traveled with Trump during the Tennessee trip.
Those organizations covered his attendance at the University of Tennessee vs University of Texas football game.
Against that backdrop, Blanche appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and sparred with Raddatz about the administration’s actions.
The interview became heated when Raddatz framed her question as though Blanche had already endorsed screening people before granting access.
“You’re saying you’re gonna screen people before they get on a flight? Come into the White House?” Raddatz asked Blanche.
Her question prompted an immediate and forceful denial from the attorney general.
“I did not say that. You don’t get to put words in my mouth!” Blanche said. His response directly challenged both the substance of the question and Raddatz’s attempt to characterize his position.
Blanche did not stop after his initial objection. He repeated his criticism while emphasizing that Raddatz had transformed a question into a claim about something he had not actually said.
“You don’t get to put words in my mouth. That’s not how it works! You just said, ‘Are you saying.’ I didn’t say that,” Blanche said.
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The exchange captured the increasingly combative tone between Trump administration officials and major media hosts.
Raddatz’s question focused on whether people would be screened before boarding a flight or entering the White House.
Blanche’s answer remained narrowly focused on rejecting the suggestion that he had made such a statement.
The tense interview followed several days of developments involving Trump, the three banned outlets, and White House access.
Trump announced the ban on Friday, while the outlets went to court on Monday seeking emergency relief.
The federal judge’s temporary order called for the restoration of the affected organizations’ access.
CNN, however, was later prevented from boarding Air Force One as Trump headed to Tennessee on Saturday.
Other media organizations traveled with the president and covered his appearance at the college football game.
The contrasting access became part of the broader dispute presented during Blanche’s Sunday interview with Raddatz.
At the center of the televised clash was a straightforward objection from Blanche.
Raddatz suggested he was advocating screening before access to flights or the White House, and Blanche repeatedly told her that he had said no such thing.
The attorney general’s answer left little room for confusion about his complaint with the ABC host.
Blanche accused Raddatz of putting words in his mouth, rejected her framing, and reminded her that asking whether he held a position did not mean he had stated it.