White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that a list of terror attacks that the administration claimed were underreported by the media was released to remind people that “the Earth is a very dangerous place right now.”
On Monday, the White House released a list of 78 terror attacks it said the media had not sufficiently covered, including the shootings at the Pulse night club in Orlando and at an office in San Bernardino, California. Both incidents received widespread media coverage.
Spicer was asked during a press briefing if the list of attacks was composed after Trump claimed that the press had “their reasons” for not covering terrorist attacks.
“We were getting questions about the President’s remarks and wanted to be very clear there were a lot of examples between 2014 and 2016 that have occurred,” Spicer said. “Many of them have not got the attention they have deserved. It is becoming too often that we are seeing these attacks not get the spectacular attention they deserve. I think it undermines the understanding of the threat that we face around this country.”
Later in his answer, Spicer added that the President wanted people to know that “the Earth is a very dangerous place these days.”
“What we need to do is to remind people that the Earth is a very dangerous place these days, that ISIS is trying to do us harm, and that the President’s commitment is to keep the country safe,” he said. “I think part of this is to make sure the American people are reminded how prevalent some of these attacks are and how much time and attention they have or have not gotten, but more importantly to make sure that they understand the unwavering commitment that the President has, and the actions he will take, to keep the country safe.”
