After President Trump called American Urban Radio White House correspondent April Ryan “a loser” Friday, some unexpected voices spoke up on her behalf.
“You talk about someone who is a loser,” Trump said at a morning press gaggle outside the White House. “…She’s very nasty.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s remark is ensuring that Ryan gets lots of love.
I love you, @AprilDRyan. Thank you for being courageous and asking difficult, necessary questions. Be encouraged.
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) November 9, 2018
Ryan was only too happy to receive a compliment from the offspring of such a monumental historical figure.
“Thank you @BerniceKing,” she replied. “I needed this! Especially from the child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
Ryan has been a thorn in the side of this White House.
She famously did not get along with Omarosa Manigault Newman and once told the former Trump aide (who now despises her ex-boss) to “keep my name out of your mouth.” Back in August, Ryan said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders should foot the bill for her bodyguard. Most recently, she came to the aide of PBS’s Yamiche Alcindor after Trump said the black reporter asked a “racist” question.
Even Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who isn’t known for being cozy with the press and has gone to great lengths to avoid reporters who want to interview her, came to Ryan’s defense and called her a “fine woman.”
.@AprilDRyan & @abbydphillip & @Yamiche are 3 of the finest reporters in the @whca and custodians of the #FirstAmendment – dismissing them or their questions as dumb, racist or stupid says more about @realDonaldTrump and his #dogwhistle racism than it does about these fine women.
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) November 9, 2018
Comedian Kathy Griffin, who once paraded around with a fake, bloody Trump head, also weighed in on Ryan by calling Trump a “stupid racist piece of shit.”
Trump tells black women reporters they ask stupid questions because he’s a stupid racist piece of shit. Thank you @abbydphillip @AprilDRyan @Yamiche for doing your job well. pic.twitter.com/LvS000DhFQ
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) November 9, 2018
Ryan’s own reaction to Trump’s insult was subdued. She seemed unsurprised by the President’s harsh words.
“I’m okay with that,” she said in a phone call interview to CNN.
“Those words are terrible from a sitting United States president … I’ve been there for 21 years and have covered three presidents before this … Something is awry … I am proud to work for CNN.”
