Story highlights "If you want to go after General Kelly, that is up to you," she said

He made erroneous claims about Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson on Thursday

Washington (CNN) White House press secretary Sarah Sanders defended White House chief of staff John Kelly Friday after he made erroneous claims about a Democratic congresswoman the day before.

Sanders told reporters it was "highly inappropriate" to debate the chief of staff over his statement, given that he is a retired four-star Marine general.

"If you want to go after General Kelly, that is up to you," she said. "If you want to get into a debate with a four-star Marine general, I think that is something highly inappropriate."

Kelly erroneously claimed Thursday that Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Florida Democrat, had taken credit for funding a new FBI building in Miami. Kelly's comment, which was meant to defend President Donald Trump's condolence call that upset the family of a fallen solider, was disproved by a video of Wilson's speech.

After her comments about the propriety of contesting Kelly's statements caused a stir, Sanders said in an email comment to CNN: "Of course everyone can be questioned. But after witnessing General Kelly's heartfelt and somber account, we should all be able to agree that impugning his credibility on how best to honor fallen heroes is not appropriate."

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