Marsha Blackburn Can't Bring Herself to Say the Media Isn't the 'Enemy'

Wolf Blitzer tried four times Monday afternoon to get U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn to explicitly denounce President Donald Trump's declaration that major media outlets in the United States are the "enemy of the American people," but the Middle Tennessee congresswoman refused to do so. Eventually, she tripped over a mild statement about how she would have expressed her frustration with the media differently than the president had. 

On Friday, Trump made the statement via, what else, Twitter:

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Below is a transcript of Blackburn's back-and-forth with Blitzer over the comments:

Wolf: Congresswoman, do you agree with the president that elements of the mainstream media here in the United States are the ‘enemy of the American people?’

Blackburn: I think that many times the opinion-based journalism, where individuals are putting their opinion into what they’re reporting is what frustrates a lot of people, Wolf.

Wolf: Congresswoman, let me interrupt, for a second. But even if people in the press are expressing opinions, whether on the left or the right, way out opinions — does that make them ‘enemies of the American people?’

Blackburn: I think that what it does is to cause people to have to look for different sources for getting their information. We see a lot of people whether it’s from the left or the right, who say ‘I just want somebody to report the news.’ That’s why they end up watching C-SPAN. But I do think it’s important for us to have a press that is a free and open press. We know that they’re not always going to agree with us. You and I can have great debates and remain cordial but have different opinions on things and Wolf, I think that that’s an important aspect that we preserve for the people to have access to.

Wolf: I don’t disagree with you, congresswoman, I’m just wondering, the language, the words that the president uttered about the media being the ‘enemy of the American people.’ Those are strong words and I assume you don’t want to be associated with words like that do you?

Blackburn: What I want to do is make certain that I do my best and the president is going to have his opinions, I’m going to agree with him many times, there are times I’m not going to agree with him, but I think it is important that news be reported factually. I think it is important that reporters and anchors be well-informed. And I think it is part of my responsibility to also make certain that when I give information that I have properly sourced that information and then individuals can make up their own mind as to where they are on an issue. I would be uncomfortable thinking someone was always with me or either always against me. And I think that in this era of protest and in this era of opinions on the air, what we have to realize is our nation has been very well-served by a robust, two-party system that allows for a solid and respectful debate on the issues that are before us. I hope that in this time of unrest that we don’t lose that or that we don’t lose sight of that.

Wolf: No, nothing that you said any of us could disagree with. We all want a robust, free press where a lot of ideas are out there, we want it to be factual, we want it to be well-sourced and all of that. The only question I’ve been hitting you with is these words from the president which are so disturbing, ‘enemy of the American people’ and I don’t hear you saying — you disagree with him — but I don’t hear you saying that he went too far, way too far, these are dangerous words. 

Blackburn: I…I…and I would not say he, he went too far, it would not be my choice of words, it would not be how I would have expressed frustration with the press. I do understand that there are so many people that feel like they only get opinions from certain news programs or certain anchors or certain networks and they seek out sources and shows, Wolf, that are going to allow them to have a little bit of give and take. Somebody who will help them think through issues and where they are on things because we’ve got a lot of issues on the plate. We’re trying to deal with tax reform. We’re trying to deal with Obamacare, which is exploding as we speak. We have the president who is still trying to get his cabinet filled out. We’re a month into this administration and the Senate still has not filled out that cabinet, so it is important that we do continue that debate and I think also it’s important that we have those that are on the other side in the Senate that will not be obstructionist, but will move forward in good faith and allow this president to get his cabinet in place so that both chambers, the House and the Senate, can work with the administration to do our job.

Wolf: The beauty of a free press, the beauty of our democracy is that there are a lot of views out there and people are able to express those views and not necessarily be branded as a result of that, whether on the left or the right, ‘enemies of the American people.’