Spicer vows to ‘provide a list’ of underreported terror attacks

“He felt members of the media don’t always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered. Protests will get blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn’t necessarily get the same coverage,” Spicer told reporters aboard Air Force One as the president returned from a weekend in Florida. “He’s doing what he can to protect this nation and protect our people. And that’s why I think sometimes the polls don’t reflect what you see on the media.”

Spicer, a frequent critic of the media’s approach to covering the Trump administration, said the “stories and success” from Trump’s first two weeks in office “aren’t exactly covered to the degree to which they should be.”

Trump had visited MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa earlier Monday, where he spoke to senior commanders about his plans to build up the military and combat terrorism around the world.

“All over Europe, it’s happening. It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported,” Trump said, referring to the “campaign of genocide” that he said Muslim extremists have waged globally.

“[I]n many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it,” Trump added. “They have their reasons, and you understand that.”

Spicer said the president was suggesting the media “underreported,” rather than refused to report, outbreaks of terrorism.

“We’ll provide a list later. There’s several instances … There’s a lot of instances that have occurred where I don’t think they’ve gotten the coverage it deserved,” Spicer said.

Trump frequently criticized former President Barack Obama for his reluctance to attribute terrorism to radical Islamic groups, describing it as another example of how his predecessor was weak on terror during the 2016 campaign.

Spicer said the White House would not waver on its travel executive order in the face of a Seattle judge’s efforts to pause its implemetation with an injunction filed on Friday.

“We’re not rethinking our strategy at all,” Spicer said. “What we’re discussing now has nothing to do with the merits of the order … This is just purely on the injunction that the judge issued. And I think we’re going to make that case tonight.”

The Trump Justice Department quickly challenged the Seattle judge’s injunction before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which set a Monday afternoon deadline for the administration and the Washington state attorney general to submit more support for their respective arguments.