Fox News’ John Roberts Defends Wife, ABC’s Kyra Phillips, from Criticism After Thanking Trump for Press Access
Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts defended his wife, Kyra Phillips, on Sunday after she took a lot of online heat for thanking President Donald Trump for the access he gives to the press pool.
Phillips, a former CNN anchor and current ABC News correspondent, was criticized by Democrats and some journalists over the weekend after issuing this tweet about the current state of affairs between Trump and the media.
No matter what your politics are, I have to say that I appreciate the access @realDonaldTrump gives us on a regular basis and the ability to ask any question. @PressSec @johnrobertsFox pic.twitter.com/CLutdtZRlj
— Kyra Phillips (@KyraPhillips) July 19, 2019
Roberts has noticed those criticisms, and he’s defending his wife’s point about White House press access:
Many people have been criticizing my wife for this tweet. I, and many of my other colleagues in the White House Press Corps are of the mind that while we don’t agree with the cancellation of the daily briefing, at least we have the chance to question the President directly… https://t.co/uW4XKwtm1H
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 21, 2019
….and sometimes several times a day. In Seoul, for example, he took questions for an hour and ten minutes. I, for one, would rather put questions directly to the President than hear canned answers from an aide. Also……..
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 21, 2019
….I have never known my wife to ask anything but a relevant and tough question of the President.
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 21, 2019
Roberts is also engaging with a number of online critics upon the matter:
This is completely inaccurate. I am in the White House pool once every five days. So there are plenty of other people asking questions besides me. https://t.co/GZ2bDLxG4e
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 21, 2019
Would we be less hacks if we didn’t ask the question? #pretzellogic https://t.co/lJPAG6nY0A
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 21, 2019
Any White House Correspondent will tell you that it’s better to be able to directly question the President on an almost daily basis than to not. Many people may not like the answers he gives, but it’s a plus to have to opportunity to at least put the difficult questions to him. https://t.co/lhBqSbLuLL
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 21, 2019
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