Sean Spicer disagrees with Trump, quits as spokesman
TOO HOT TO HANDLE Resignation came after president tapped a New York financier as communications director
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s embattled press secretary Sean Spicer has resigned citing strong disagreement with the US president’s choice of the new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier.
The New York Times, which first reported the resignation, said Spicer put in his papers shortly after the president offered Scar a mu cc it he position that had fallen vacant in May after the resignation of then incumbent Mike Dubke. The president asked Spicer to continue, but the latter decided to resign instead, saying Scar a mu cc i’ s appointment was a big mistake, according to NYT.
No announcement had been made by the White House on either development till the filing of this report.
Spicer, who had continued as Trump’s spokesman from the campaign, had struggled as the White House press secretary from the start and had relinquished his place behind the podium in recent days to his deputy Sarah Sanders. There was speculation he would be moving up in the communications shop as director and leave the daily briefings, which were marked by frequent testy exchanges with reporters on his watch, to Sanders. The president, obviously had other plans.
Spicer started in the tenure with a disastrous first briefing at which he harangued reporters for underplaying the turnout at the president’s inauguration on January 20, and offered remarks and observations that were fact ually challenged later. Very soon, his daily briefings, a White House tradition, came to be dominated by angry exchanges marked by insults and put-downs, some of which he was forced to apologise for. And then there were the gaffes. In one, he greeted India on the 70th anniversary of its Independence Day, in June, two months ahead of time.
“I want to wish the people of India a happy 70th anniversary on their independence,” he said, before going on to offer a brief preview of Prime Minister Narend ra Mo di’ s upcoming meeting with Trump, their first.
Spicer was called manytimes for playing fast and loose with facts, starting with his first briefing on the crowd size at Trump’s inaugural. “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period! Sometimes we can disagree with the facts,” he said famously.
Trump wasn’t of much help either, as he kept up an alternative narrative of his presidency though social media posts, often contradicting those he had appointed to speak for him.
And he kept Spicer guessing about what he thought of him. He once said in an interview on Fox, “He’s getting beat up. No, he just gets beat up by these people and again you know they don’t show the 90 questions that they asked and answered properly.”
Spicer’s standing in the White House and outside was also damaged immeasurably by Melissa McCarthy’ s caricature of him on Saturday Night Live, the way he dressed, he looked and dealt with reporters.