Kellyanne Conway Defends White House's Credibility: We Have 'High Regard' for Facts

She apologized for misspeaking about the Bowling Green "massacre."

ByABC News
February 7, 2017, 7:53 PM

— -- Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway defended the White House's credibility on CNN Tuesday after she came under fire last week for referring to a Bowling Green "massacre” or "attack" that never actually happened.

“Let me just say we have a very high respect for the truth and I can only speak for me and I'm sorry that I misspoke,” Conway told CNN's Jake Tapper. “We have a high regard for the facts.”

Conway added: “I regretted it tremendously because I used the wrong word to describe something several times. I felt badly about that and I apologize and I rectify.”

However, Conway went on to stand by a list of 78 global terror-related events from September 2014 through December 2016 that the White House claims the media “underreported.”

“What the president is saying is ... that there are other attacks that don't get as much coverage,” Conway said of some of the incidents on the list.

In a shift from President Donald Trump's past comments, Conway also said she does not believe CNN is fake news.

“I don't think CNN is fake news,” Conway said. “I think there are some reports everywhere, in print, on TV, on radio, in conversation that are not well researched and are sometimes based on falseness.”

Conway has faced criticism for her comments on the truth before.

On Day Three of President Trump’s term, Conway appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to defend White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s claims on inauguration crowd size numbers for the newly minted president with a phrase scrutinized for days: alternative facts.

“Don’t be so overly dramatic about it,” Conway said NBC’s Chuck Todd when he questioned Spicer’s claim on the inauguration crowd size. “What -- you’re saying it’s falsehood. And they’re giving Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that.”

“Wait a minute -- alternative facts?” Todd asked Conway. “Look, alternative facts are not facts. They’re falsehoods.”