Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump, according to his White House spokeswoman, was joking on Friday when he told police officers to be "rough" with suspects, comments that were rebuked by police departments across the country.

"I believe he was making a joke at the time," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters when asked if Trump had a response to the critiques.

Before Sanders' comments White House officials had declined to say if they had a response to multiple police departments criticizing Trump's law-and-order speech in New York.

Trump, speaking before officers from Suffolk County Police Department in New York on efforts to combat the gang MS-13, urged officers Friday to be "rough" on suspects, as many officers standing behind the President cheered and clapped.

"I have nothing to add to this," a White House official said Monday when asked about the speech and the criticism Trump received, declining to go on the record.

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