CNN political analyst April Ryan twisted Sarah Sanders’ words on Thursday night in order to make the absurd suggestion that the White House press secretary is looking for a physical confrontation with the star reporter.

After Ryan asked a combative question during Thursday’s press briefing, accusing her of being “blindsided” by comments Rudy Giuliani recently made on Fox News, Sanders told Ryan, “Well, with all due respect, you actually don’t know much about me in terms of what I feel and what I don’t.”

Ryan misquoted Sanders while speaking to CNN colleague Don Lemon on-air afterwards, claiming the press secretary said, “You don’t know me,” before declaring the phrase to be fighting words.

April Ryan: Sarah Sanders response to Giuliani question "was street. … there's no room, no place for that in the White House briefing room" https://t.co/fO2SCtewu5 https://t.co/8wRpaIwNAj — CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) May 4, 2018

“For Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the presidential spokesperson, the mouthpiece for the President of the United States, to say, ‘You don’t know me,’ in certain quarters in this nation, that starts a physical fight,” Ryan said. “I was very shocked. It was street. I will even go beyond that, it was gutter.”– READ MORE