What Is Going On With Sean Spicer?
SEAN AGAIN, OFF AGAIN
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​White House press secretary Sean Spicer has been in the news lately for refusing to cooperate with the people who write the news. He's also fielding mean jokes from Steve Bannon, and he's also rumored to be searching for his own replacement. Here's everything you need to know about Donald Trump's embattled spokesman.

Since The White House Communications Director Resigned Last Month, Spicer Has Been Juggling Two Roles

Spicer reportedly feels "overtaxed" by his new responsibilities.

White House Communications Director Mike Dubke — a longtime Republican operative with an establishment pedigree who never quite jelled with Trump's chaotic, insurgent operation — resigned from his post last month, and Spicer has unofficially taken on some of Dubke's off-camera messaging duties.

[Washington Post]

Press Briefings Have Become Less Predictable In Recent Weeks

Spicer has withdrawn from the spotlight. 

Early in Trump's presidency, Spicer's on-camera briefing was an almost-daily, must-watch occurrence — a combative, freewheeling spectacle between the press secretary and the restive press corps…

But recently, the White House briefing had receded from its place of daily prominence, and Spicer with it. Spicer took to holding some briefings off-camera… or deploying Sanders as his substitute, or inviting a Cabinet official to brief reporters. Some days, there has been no briefing at all.

[Washington Post]

Spicer Refused To Allow Cameras Or Audio Recording At A Press Gaggle On Monday

The shift away from traditional press briefings culminated in a briefing yesterday in which no cameras or other recording devices were allowed.

Spicer conducted an off-camera briefing with reporters on Monday in which the press was told it could not film or broadcast audio of the proceedings. Spicer conducted the last on-camera briefing last Monday.

[The Hill]

Steve Bannon Made A Mean Joke About Spicer When Asked About The Off-Camera Briefing

Asked by reporter Rosie Gray why the White House was no longer allowing cameras at the briefings, Bannon made a glib joke about Spicer's weight.

Neither Spicer nor deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders responded to queries about the changes to the briefings. Asked why the briefings are now routinely held off-camera, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said in a text message "Sean got fatter," and did not respond to a follow-up.

[The Atlantic]

And Reporters Are Mad About The Changing Briefing Protocols

CNN's Jim Acosta was particularly vocal, on Twitter and on air, about how the off-camera briefing represented "stonewalling."

"Make no mistake about what we are all witnessing," Jim Acosta, CNN's senior White House correspondent tweeted. "This is a WH that is stonewalling the news media. Hiding behind no camera/no audio gaggles." On CNN, Acosta described White House press briefings as becoming "kind of useless," and questioned why journalists bother attending if they are not allowed to record on camera or with audio. "It just feels like we're slowly but surely being dragged into what is a new normal in this country where the President of the United States is allowed to insulate himself from answering hard questions."

[The Daily Beast]

The White House Relented, Allowing Cameras At Tuesday's Briefing

This morning, the White House announced that cameras will be allowed at today's briefing.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer will now give an on-camera press briefing at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, the White House announced Tuesday. The decision came after reporters took to social media to complain that no press briefing, either on or off camera, was on the daily White House schedule. Spicer downplayed the decision, telling reporters that the daily guidance had just been updated, as it had been many times before.

[MarketWatch]

Not For The First Time, Spicer Is Rumored To Be On His Way Out As Press Secretary

Yesterday afternoon, reports emerged that Spicer is set to move into a behind-the-scenes role on the White House communications team.

Trump's most visible spokesman, Press Secretary Sean Spicer, may move into a more senior role focused on strategy that will take him away from the briefing room podium — and Trump may hire a new press secretary, two people familiar with the discussions said.

[Bloomberg]


Spicer is reportedly leading the search for his own replacement, and has reached out to leading conservative pundits to talk about joining the White House.

Last week, Spicer and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus reached out to Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham about the role of press secretary and Daily Mail editor David Martosko about the role of communications director, according to a White House official.

[Politico]

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