INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders defended Trump, saying that he was hitting out against media biasWashington, United States:
President Donald Trump on Wednesday broke his silence about the racism row engulfing supporter Roseanne Barr, not to condemn her
outburst but to attack ABC television for purported media bias.The US network on Tuesday canceled hit sitcom "Roseanne," after star Barr
fired off a racist tweet against former White House advisor Valerie Jarrett, who was one of Barack Obama's closest aides.Jarrett revealed
that Bob Iger, the head of ABC parent company Disney, telephoned her personally to tell her the network was cancelling the show."Bob Iger of
ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that 'ABC does not tolerate comments like those' made by Roseanne Barr," Trump tweeted
Wednesday."Gee, he never called President Donald J
Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC
Maybe I just didn't get the callWhite House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders later defended the president, saying that he was hitting out
against media bias."The president is pointing to the hypocrisy in the media," she said."This is a double standard that the president is
No one is defending her comments
They're inappropriate, but that's what the point that he was making.When the scandal first broke, the White House had deflected questions
with Sanders saying: "We have a lot bigger things going on in the country right now."Barr, 65 and a vocal Trump supporter who has used
Twitter to voice far-right and conspiracy theorist views, took aim at Jarrett in a post that read: "Muslim brotherhood planet of the apes
had a baby = vj."She later apologized for what she called a "joke." But ABC said it was canceling the show, condemning her "abhorrent,
repugnant" tweet, which was "inconsistent with our values.""I'm not a racist, I never was I never will be," Barr tweeted Wednesday,
attempting to defend herself against an onslaught of criticism."One stupid joke in a lifetime of fighting 4 civil rights 4 all minorities,
against networks, studios, at the expense of my nervous system/family/wealth will NEVER b taken from me."A since-deleted tweet blaming her
outburst on a dose of the sleeping pill Ambien, prompted a swift retort from pharma giant Sanofi."While all pharmaceutical treatments have
side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication," tweeted the French pharmaceutical giant in an acerbic post that
quickly went viral."Roseanne" had returned to US screens in March after a 21-year hiatus with Barr's character recast as a Trump supporter
in a rare depiction of working class life on the US small screen.The show scored huge ratings and had been renewed for an 11th season
following largely positive reviews -- including from the president.© Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for the headline, this story has not been
edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
