CNN's April Ryan hits Sarah Sanders on her way out, saying she 'could not face the heat'

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White House press secretary Sarah Sanders set to resign

Sarah Sanders says it has been an honor to serve her country.

White House reporter and CNN political analyst April Ryan slammed outgoing White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders Thursday, insisting she "could not face the heat" of taking questions from journalists.

President Trump announced earlier Thursday that Sanders will be leaving the administration at the end of the month and expressed his hope that she will run for governor in her home state of Arkansas.

"After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas," Trump tweeted. "She is a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job! I hope she decides to run for Governor of Arkansas - she would be fantastic. Sarah, thank you for a job well done!"

During a CNN panel discussion, Ryan said Sanders "did the right thing" by leaving the administration but stressed she should have done so "a long time ago."

"She suffers from lie-abetes and her tenure has been fraught with sex, lies, and videotape," Ryan told anchor Erin Burnett. "From the moment she stepped into that position, there were lies from that podium from her mouth."

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The American Urban Radio Networks correspondent listed several examples of what she considered "lies" from Sanders, including when the press secretary shared an altered video of CNN reporter Jim Acosta refusing to hand over the microphone to a White House intern during a press conference. The video made it appear Acosta assaulted the woman.

Ryan also cited Sanders' admission to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators that she did not give reporters an honest answer regarding the lack of confidence FBI agents had in fired director James Comey. She also slammed Sanders for not holding a former press briefing in over 90 days.

"When Sarah Huckabee had no ground to stand on, she would make personal attacks," Ryan continued. "There were many times she would leave after 12 minutes of doing a briefing because she could not face the heat."