White House reporter April Ryan says she’s hired a bodyguard behind Trump-inspired threats
The veteran journalist says in an interview who she thinks should pay for her security since they're the cause of the problem
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As a White House reporter, April Ryan has had some intense exchanges with White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and because of it, she says her safety is at risk, the Washington Examiner reports.
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Ryan, who is on a press tour for her upcoming book, “Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House,” said she’s received an onslaught of death threats because of her verbal fisticuffs with Sanders. Now Ryan said she’s had to level up and hire a personal bodyguard.
“Oh, I get approached a lot, when I’m walking from my car, when I’m walking to my car, when I eat. Anywhere I go. I mean, they have put a target on my head, and I don’t know who’s who sometimes,” Ryan said in an interview published Tuesday by the Hollywood Reporter.
“I’ve had death threats. I’ve had craziness … Do I have a bodyguard? Yes, I do. Am I paying for it? Yes, I am. And, I think [White House press secretary Sarah Sanders] should have to pay for it, especially if she’s stirring it up with her boss,” she added.
Ryan has made a name for herself for challenging the Trump administration with hard-hitting questions that Sanders often worked hard to dodge. And the two, almost always bumped heads.
Ryan, who is the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, almost never hides her emotions when it comes to what she hears on the job, especially in the middle of the Trump administration’s White House press briefings. A grimace here, a raised eyebrow there, lip twists galore—enough to earn her a cache of “Girl, what?” memes and gifs.
But Ryan believes Sanders’ days are numbered.
“I hear it’s almost over,” she said, adding that she’s heard Sanders was planning an “elegant exit” from the White House.
“What’s happening is unprecedented … I’ve been under attack. And lied on. Treated terribly. And if I don’t tell the story, you won’t get it. So, I’m putting it out there, because people see one side of it,” said Ryan.
Ryan said she’s one of many reporters named on a “list” of journalists the White House does not like.
“The blacklist. The White House blacklist … Me, [CNN chief White House correspondent] Jim Acosta. We’re on the blacklist. [CNN White House correspondent] Kaitlan Collins. People they don’t like,” Ryan added.
