Just 24 hours after the first round of charges were filed in the ongoing Russian investigation, the White House is scrambling to defend Donald Trump and distance him from the allegations. On Halloween, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was back in front of the camera to do just that.

Sanders on Russian probe

Ever since Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton last November, speculation has increased over what role Russia played in his campaign. Despite denying any and all allegations that he colluded with the Kremlin, Trump has been forced to hit back against an onslaught of reports from well-respected news outlets and government agencies that say otherwise.

In the last two and a half years since he kicked off his political career, the former host of "The Apprentice" has been surrounded by controversy, with the current investigation into Russia proving to be the one that just won't go away. On Monday, it was revealed that Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his aid Rick Gates, were indicted as a result of the investigation, with former campaign aid George Papadopoulos pleading guilty to lying to authorities. These issues and more were highlighted during an October 31 press briefing at the White House.

While taking questions from reporters on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was quick to defend Donald Trump over the recent charges in the Russian investigation, before bashing the media for allegedly being "obsessed" with the scandal.

When pressed on the guilty plea of George Papadopoulos, Sanders stated "What Papadopoulos did was lie and that's on him, not the campaign." Sanders, like Trump earlier in the day, dismissed the former aid as not being significant enough to the campaign, while doing her best to separate his actions from the president.

(Sanders on media being "obsessed" with Russian scandal.)

Sarah Huckabee Sanders was then asked if the Russian probe and the actions by special counsel Robert Mueller had negatively impacted Donald Trump's ability to perform in the job of commander in chief, which prompted the press secretary to flip the issue back on the media.

"You guys seem completely obsessed with this, while there are a lot of other things happening around the country," she said.

Sanders on John Kelly

In addition to the defense of Donald Trump over the Russian scandal, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was then asked about Chief of Staff John Kelly's recent remarks appearing to defend the South in the Civil War by hinting that the North could have "compromised" to avoid further causalities.

"Was he suggesting that there would be compromise on the ablution of slavery?" one reporter asked. "Look, all of our leaders have flaws,” she continued, before adding, "That doesn’t diminish their contributions to our country and certainly can’t erase them from history."

Twitter reacts

Not long after Sarah Huckabee Sanders' press briefing ending, critics of the administration wasted no time hitting back on social media. "So (SHS) can go jump in a hole if she thinks Shelby Foote's word is anywhere near neutral as it relates to the Civil War." one tweet read.

"Are we really stuck with freaking Sarah Huckabee Sanders for the remainder of this cluster f**k?" another tweet noted. "Once you notice that (SHS) always sounds like she’s out of breathe, you can’t un-hear it godamnit," an additional tweet added.

"Every time (SHS) smiles, an angel dies," yet another tweet read. "(SHS) voice sounds exactly like what her face looks like," a Twitter user wrote. The backlash continued as the political divide between the left and right showed no signs of slowing down.