Ex-Bush White House officials are continuing to criticize the Obama administration for its recent war against Fox News.
Former Press Secretary Dana Perino told Sean Hannity last night that what the Obama White House is doing to Fox News is something “like dictators do.”
“When you are the White House, you don’t just speak to the 16 reporters who are in the room,” she said. “What you say at that podium really matters.”
And what “emerging democracies around the world” see in the current White House is “like dictators do, right, they go after illegitimate news organizations.”
“Good point,” Hannity said.
Perino suggested the White House follow some advice:
Don’t rub their nose in it. Just let it go. Take the high road.
She also said the Bush White House faced a different standard than the Obama administration.
I have a feeling that if I had done this from the White House podium, that their reaction would have been different. And I think about what happens in other countries when news organizations are muzzled.
Here’s the video:
What’s particularly funny about this is that earlier this week, as Think Progress pointed out, Perino also appeared on Fox and Friends and essentially admitted that the Bush White House froze out MSNBC.
“There were some people who really wanted me from the podium to go after MSNBC, and I just thought it was a bridge too far, not something that should be done from the White House,” she said.
Fair enough. But a moment later, when asked about Bush White House appearances on MSNBC, Perino added, “towards the end we didn’t do a lot with MSNBC.”
Here’s the video:
