White House defends Trump's tweets about TV host

— -- The White House and first lady are standing by President Trump after he published a series of tweets this morning disparaging cable news hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.

Deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders spent much of the afternoon's press briefing defending Trump's actions.

"I think that the president is pushing back against people who attack him day after day after day," she said.

She continued, "The president has been attacked mercilessly on personal accounts by people on that program. The only person I see a war on is this president and every person that works for him."

Responding to criticism that Trump's tweets sullied the presidency, Sanders responded that he respects the dignity of his position "every day in the decisions that he's making and the focus and priorities of his agenda."

She added that the American people "elected a fighter ... They knew what they were getting."

Melania Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham issued a statement earlier in the day, though Grisham later said that the statement should be read not as a direct defense of or reaction to today's tweets but as a reiteration of previous statements by the first lady.

"As first lady has stated publicly ... when her husband gets attacked, he will punch back 10 times harder," Grisham said.

ABC News' Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.