Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts had the last laugh in an exchange Tuesday with White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The White House briefing was, of course, still off-camera, which continues to give journalists around town heartburn.
The exchange was confusing in that various reporters heard different things.
But here’s what was actually said:
SANDERS: John Roberts is bored today; he’s headed out [laughter].
ROBERTS: If it were on camera, I might not.
That was it. But you’d think it was so much more.
The Hill‘s headline was rather dramatic: “Sanders, Fox reporter exchange jabs over off-camera briefings.” Mediaite described it more realistically as Roberts “chiding” Sanders.
Adrian Carrasquillo, the White House correspondent for BuzzFeed, said the line was: “Do it on-camera, I might not.” Yahoo News‘s Hunter Walker heard this: “Do it on camera and I might stay.”
The official transcript is as follows: “If it were on camera, I might not.”
Not everyone who was there thought the exchange deserved a boxing metaphor.
“People laughed. It wasn’t like a snap. He just made a quip that was funny,” said a Mirror spy. “The Hill sucks as always.”
Other reporters felt the burn in the room.
.@johnrobertsFox leaves briefing early. Sanders notes it from podium. He calls back, “If it was on camera, I might not be.” Ooohs.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 18, 2017
And TV One’s Roland Martin cheered him on.
“Way to go @johnrobertsFox,” he remarked on Twitter.
Here’s how Breitbart News‘s Charlie Spiering characterized the incident:
“Sarah Sanders ribbs [sic] @johnrobertsFox for leaving briefing early – Roberts shoots back that maybe he would stay if it was on camera,” he wrote on Twitter.
Roberts left the briefing early, but he says it wasn’t because he was angry.
To all who are musing over me leaving the @SHSanders45 Briefing…I have a live shot. Had the brief been on camera, it would 1/2
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 18, 2017
Would have been on TV, not me. I would have waited until it was over.
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 18, 2017