Sarah Huckabee Sanders insists Trump's nuclear-button tweet was meant to 'stand up for the people of this country'

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders valiantly tried to begin her press briefing Wednesday by talking about the budget debate, as a possible government shutdown looms over Congress. But the White House press corps immediately began questioning her about some ... other matters.

Of particular interest was President Trump's fiery Tuesday night tweet, where he claimed to possess a "nuclear button" that was "bigger and more powerful" than the one owned by North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. When a reporter asked if Trump's tweet was a sign of mental instability, Sanders insisted that it is Kim's "mental fitness" that is a more pressing matter:

Another reporter quickly pushed back on Sanders, asking then whether goading someone who is mentally unstable is really a good idea. "I don't think it's taunting to stand up for the people of this country," Sanders replied:

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Sanders eventually ended Wednesday's briefing with a perhaps unintentionally ironic quip, which you can watch below. Kelly O'Meara Morales

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Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.