Sarah Huckabee Sanders overlooks Trump's 'immorality' by focusing on his 'unconventionality'


White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders reconciles her traditional Christian beliefs with President Trump's sometimes-not-so-Christian tendencies by separating church and state. "I'm not going to my office expecting it to be my church," she told The New Yorker in an interview published Tuesday.
Sanders fell into the press secretary job last year when tumultuous staffing issues left the post open; as one former adviser said, "There wasn't anybody else." She was reportedly brought on to Team Trump as a way to link the president to evangelicals and suburban women.
Though she rarely hints at her personal views on Trump's policy decisions, she is steadfastly loyal to the president's message, functioning at once as "the wall" Trump built and the "battering ram" fighting through his myriad crises. Her views or style can sometimes diverge from what The New Yorker calls Trump's "immorality," by evangelical standards, but she focuses on the positive aspects of his "unconventionality." Someone close to her said that she views Trump's bombastic and uncompromising approach as effective, if unsavory.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During official press briefings, Sanders can't say anything "even somewhat nuanced" about Trump, a source said — praise only. However, behind the scenes, reporters say she is much less confrontational and is often quite helpful. The New Yorker reports that she stays aggressive on camera because it pleases Trump and helps him push his claims of "fake news." Sanders says she likes the "nervous adrenaline" that comes with the job. "The odds are stacked against you," she said of entering the briefing room to face upwards of 50 reporters. "I like it, though." Read more at The New Yorker.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Scientists genetically revive extinct 'dire wolves'
Speed Read A 'de-extinction' company has revived the species made popular by HBO's 'Game of Thrones'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump, China up trade war risks with tariff threats
Speed Read China said it would 'fight to the end' after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court gives Trump 2 deportation wins
Speed Read The court ruled that the Trump administration could continue to deport Venezuelan migrants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump, China up trade war risks with tariff threats
Speed Read China said it would 'fight to the end' after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court gives Trump 2 deportation wins
Speed Read The court ruled that the Trump administration could continue to deport Venezuelan migrants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge orders US to recall deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration has been ordered to retrieve one of the migrants it sent to a prison in El Salvador due to an 'administrative error'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump calls tariffs 'medicine' as stocks plunge
Speed Read 'Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,' the president said of his imposed 10% tariffs on imported goods
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump axes NSA head, NSC staff after Loomer advice
Speed Read On the recommendation of Laura Loomer, Trump fired the head of the National Security Agency and several National Security Council officials
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump says tariffs 'going very well' as markets fall
speed read US financial markets had their biggest one-day drop since the advent of Covid-19
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump rolls out tariffs on virtually all imports
Speed Read On "Liberation Day," Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to America and higher reciprocal tariffs for some 60 other countries
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sen. Booker's 25-hour speech beats Thurmond
Speed Read He spoke for the longest time in recorded Senate history, protesting the Trump administration's policies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published