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Sean Spicer
| Sean Spicer | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Organization: | Donald Trump presidential administration |
| Role: | Former press secretary |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Affiliation: | Republican |
| Education: | •Connecticut College •Naval War College |
| Website: | Official website |
Sean Spicer is a Republican communications specialist. From January to July 2017, he was President Donald Trump's (R) press secretary. He resigned the position on July 21, 2017, after Trump offered the position of White House communications director to Anthony Scaramucci.[1]
He previously worked as a chief strategist for the Republican National Committee (RNC) and as the United States trade representative for media and public affairs in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He also held research and communications positions for Republican groups on Capitol Hill, including the National Republican Congressional Committee and the House Budget Committee.[2][3]
Early career
Work on Capitol Hill
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in government from Connecticut College in 1993, Spicer began working in politics as a researcher with the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). Beginning in 2000, Spicer was the National Republican Congressional Committee's director of incumbent retention, where he wrote the organization's "Incumbent Survival Guide" and oversaw the races to retain Republican members of the U.S. House.[4]
From 2002 to 2006, Spicer worked in communications roles for Republicans in the U.S. House, first as the communications director for the House Budget Committee. In 2004, he served in the same position for the House Republican Conference. In this role, he directed communications for all House Republicans and served as a communications liaison for legislators.[5]
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
From 2006 to 2008, Spicer served as the assistant United States trade representative for media and public affairs.[6] In this role, Spicer served as the "point person for creating and implementing the domestic and international media strategy on trade related matters."[7] According to The Washington Post, Spicer's duties in this position made him into "one of the town’s [Washington, D.C.'s] most ardent advocates for free trade."[8]
Republican National Committee
- See also: Republican National Committee
Spicer joined the RNC in 2011 and began working to build the organization's digital communications presence. He organized the group's rapid response efforts and began expanding the RNC's network of surrogates for television appearances. According to his profile with the RNC, Spicer also "reinstituted a nationwide communications training effort, known as the RNC’s 'Comms College.'"[6] In February 2015, Spicer's role expanded to chief strategist, giving him the additional duties of coordinating "with the RNC chief of staff and counsel on state conventions, primaries, caucuses and the 2016 Cleveland convention," according to CNN.[9]
Donald Trump presidential transition team
Spicer was a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team. The transition team was a group of around 100 aides, policy experts, government affairs officials, and former government officials who were tasked with vetting, interviewing, and recommending individuals for top cabinet and staff roles in Trump's administration. He was part of the leadership staff.[10]
Donald Trump presidential administration
- See also: Donald Trump White House staff
On December 22, 2016, Trump named Spicer as assistant to the president and press secretary. When Jason Miller turned down Trump's offer to serve as the White House communications director, Spicer assumed the communications director role in addition to his press secretary duties.[2][3]
Initial press briefing on inauguration crowd size, January 2017
On January 21, 2017, the first full day of Trump's administration, Spicer gave a statement concerning media reports of the crowd size at Trump's inauguration the day before. In his statement, Spicer accused some media outlets of reporting false claims that Trump's inaugural crowd was smaller than the crowd for President Obama's first inauguration. He also claimed these members of the media publicized misleading photographs of the event. Spicer said, "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration -- period -- both in person and around the globe. Even the New York Times printed a photograph showing a misrepresentation of the crowd in the original Tweet in their paper, which showed the full extent of the support, depth in crowd, and intensity that existed. These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm of the inauguration are shameful and wrong."[11]
Comments on Bashar al Assad, April 2017
On April 11, 2017, after Trump ordered a missile strike on Syria in retaliation for a reported chemical attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Syrians in a rebel-held area of Syria. Spicer told reporters, "We didn’t use chemical weapons in World War II. ... You know, you had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons."[12] Spicer later apologized for his statement about the Holocaust and issued a written clarification which read, in part, "In no way was I trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust. I was trying to draw a distinction of the tactic of using airplanes to drop chemical weapons on population centers. Any attack on innocent people is reprehensible and inexcusable."[13]
Reduced on-camera press briefings, June 2017
In June 2017, after Michael Dubke left the administration's communications director role, Spicer reduced the number of on-camera briefings held by White House communications staff. Deputy communications director Sarah Huckabee Sanders began to take over a portion of the daily press briefings as Spicer took on the role of communications director while the administration searched for Dubke's replacement.[14] Spicer and Huckabee Sanders began holding fewer on-camera briefings in late June 2017, in some cases also not allowing audio of the briefings to be recorded. When asked about the decision to limit video and audio, Spicer explained the choice was made in an attempt to foster more dialogue between reporters and White House officials. He said, "I think some of these reporters are more interested in their YouTube clips than they are in factual news. ... You look at the number of questions that get asked over and over again, just so a reporter can get a clip for themselves saying something or yelling at someone."[15]
Resignation, July 2017
On July 21, 2017, Spicer resigned his position in the Trump administration after Trump offered the position of communications director to Trump surrogate Anthony Scaramucci. According to The New York Times, "Mr. Spicer told Mr. Trump that he believed the appointment was a major mistake."[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The New York Times, "Sean Spicer Resigns as White House Press Secretary," July 21, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 CNN, "Trump spokesman Jason Miller not taking White House job," December 26, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 GreatAgain, "President-Elect Donald J. Trump Names Senior Communications Team," December 22, 2016
- ↑ Leadership Institute, "Sean Spicer," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Sean Spicer," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Republican National Committee, "Sean M. Spicer - Chief Strategist and Communications Director," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ The Neal Asbury Show, "Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Public and Media Affairs Sean M. Spicer to Appear November 6th On The Neal Asbury Show on WZAB-AM," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "What happens when you tie your career to Donald Trump? Ask Sean Spicer in a few months," August 17, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Top RNC communicator expands role," February 1, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Trump adds vice chairs to transition team, including several women," November 29, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Transcript of White House press secretary statement to the media," January 21, 2017
- ↑ The New York Times, "Sean Spicer Raises Outcry With Talk of Hitler, Assad and Poison Gas," April 11, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer apologizes for saying Hitler didn't use chemical weapons," April 11, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Spicer's on-camera time is cut. At least we have the memories," June 20, 2017
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Sean Spicer says he doesn’t face reporters on TV because it would distract from the president," June 25, 2017
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