President Trump's spokeswoman declines to say if press is 'enemy of the people' during combative briefing

WASHINGTON – White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders blasted the media Thursday for what she termed a "verbal assault" against President Donald Trump and declined to walk back the president's assertion that reporters are "the enemy of the people."

In a contentious White House briefing that initially focused on Russian meddling in the midterm elections, Sanders said the media had gone after her personally and said the press repeatedly resorted to "personal attacks without any content other than to incite anger."

"As far as I know I'm the first press secretary in the history of the United States who has required Secret Service protection," Sanders said.

Sanders' remarks, which came during an exchange with CNN's Jim Acosta, followed an event in Washington on Thursday in which Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and senior adviser, was asked whether she believes the media are "the enemy of the people."

"No, I do not," she said.

Acosta, who was jeered at during Trump's rally in Tampa on Tuesday, later walked out of the briefing and tweeted, "I am totally saddened by what just happened." He called Sanders' refusal to reject the characterization of press as enemy as "shameful."

Trump later drew a distinction between the media and what he calls "the fake news."

"They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no," Trump posted on Twitter. "It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!"

Sanders and Acosta have frequently sparred. A day earlier, when asked if the White House condemned the jeering Acosta captured on video at the rally, Sanders said the relationship between the White House and the press is a "two-way street."

"We certainly support a free press. We certainly condemn violence against anybody, but we also ask that people act responsibly and report accurately and fairly,” she said.

Trump has increasingly used the term to escalate his criticism of the press. In a tweet last month following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said the media had mischaracterized the summit.

"The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media," Trump wrote. "I look forward to our second meeting."

Trump's meeting with Putin was widely criticized by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Sanders was asked several times Thursday whether she rejects the "enemy of the people" characterization.

"I'm here to speak on behalf of the president," she said. "He's made his comments clear."

WSOC