Trump weighs in on Roseanne Barr, Bob Iger and Valerie Jarrett: No one apologizes to me

Jessica Estepa | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption White House calls out media over response to Roseanne Barr White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders turned the tables on the press when she was asked about President Trump's reaction to Roseanne Barr's racist tweet.

A day after the Roseanne reboot was canceled over a racist tweet from its star, President Trump criticized ABC for failing to address the "HORRIBLE statements" said about him.

"Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that 'ABC does not tolerate comments like those' made by Roseanne Barr," Trump tweeted Wednesday. "Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn’t get the call?"

Trump's comments were the first time he weighed in on Roseanne Barr's tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett: "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby."

Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that “ABC does not tolerate comments like those” made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn’t get the call? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018

Iger, the CEO of ABC's parent company Disney, has previously been at odds with the president. He quit Trump's business advisory council when the president pulled out of the Paris climate agreement last year. He also called Trump's decision to end the Obama-era Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) "cruel and misguided."

After Trump's tweet, some Democratic lawmakers criticized the president.

I wish you were just as outraged to learn that more than 4,000 Americans died in #PuertoRico on your watch. https://t.co/T2gBPiZKGf — Rep. Joe Crowley (@repjoecrowley) May 30, 2018

Wow. This is right up there with using a “Happy Memorial Day” tweet to list accomplishments. I wonder how many @realDonaldTrump hard core supporters would let a whiny snowflake like this into their homes. https://t.co/SuMjdwwWoP — Jim Himes (@jahimes) May 30, 2018

But we are trusting this ⬇️ fragile ego to negotiate with North Korea. https://t.co/t7xhFTrmhO — Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) May 30, 2018

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the president was merely calling out media bias with his tweet and pointing out the "hypocrisy of the media saying the most horrible things about the president."

"No one is defending what she said," Sanders said. "The president is the president of all the country.”

She complained that networks did not cover Trump’s bill signing ceremony live on Wednesday.

She also recited a litany of grievances against ABC and its affiliated networks: ESPN’s Jemele Hill calling Trump a white supremacist; The View host Joy Behar calling Vice President Pence’s faith a “mental illness;” comedian Kathy Griffin going on The View to retract her apology for posing with what appeared to be Trump’s severed head; and ESPN rehiring Keith Olbermann, who has called Trump a Nazi.

“This is a double standard that the president is speaking about. Nobody is defending her comments. They’re inappropriate, but that wasn’t the point he was making," she said.

For her part, Jarrett, an Iranian-born African-American, discussed the situation during a town hall on MSNBC Wednesday night, during which she said Iger called her to apologize.

"He said that he had zero tolerance for that sort of racist, bigoted comment and he wanted me to know before he made it public that he was canceling the show," she said.

Jarrett said she wanted this to become a teaching moment — and noted that Trump himself bears some responsibility for Barr's actions.

"The tone does start at the top, and we like to look up to our president and feel as though he reflects the values of our country," she said. "But I also think every individual citizen has a responsibility too, and it's up to all of us to push back. Our government is only going to be as good as we make it be."

Contributing: Gregory Korte