While President Donald Trump is usually the one who dominates the news cycle, members of his administration have had their fair shot in the spotlight. For White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, the media is not willing to hold back their criticism.
Spicer's trouble
One of the first decisions made by Donald Trump after he was elected president last November was to pick who would be his new press secretary. As the daily face of the president's agenda, the press secretary must be able to communicate and put a positive spin on what is going on in the White House regardless of any outside distractions.
Sean Spicer was formally a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, but has since struggled at times in his new role. Spicer's blunders and blatant falsehoods have become so obvious that even "Saturday Night Live" has mocked his press briefings with actress Melissa McCarthy taking on the role. During a March 23 segment on CNN, Spicer became the butt of the joke.
On Thursday night, a wide-ranging panel joined CNN host Anderson Cooper to discuss Sean Spicer. After playing a short video montage of Spicer attempting to defend the Republican health care bill, the panel couldn't help but laugh in amazement. Former Republican Senator and network contributor Rick Santorum was the first to offer his thoughts, mocking Spicer for his use of certain words in the video clip.
"I want to give some advice to the Trump people who are talking to the media," Santorum said. "Don't use words like 'grind members down.'" Santorum said to the laughter of panel.
'Pay no attention to the man behind the podium': John King calls out Sean Spicer's 'credibility problem' https://t.co/6m0RgHxYwv pic.twitter.com/Ym4H17A9Ba
— Raw Story (@RawStory) March 24, 2017
As the segment came to a close, fellow CNN host John King decided to take his own shot at Sean Spicer.
"I hate to say this, but in a sense, just pay no attention to the man at that podium," King said in reference to Spicer. "I hate to say it that early in a new administration, but there's a credibility problem in the White House briefing room," he concluded.
President Trump's wiretap claims have hurt his credibility, new poll finds https://t.co/kLE7Meduhw pic.twitter.com/jIsa1UdlGI
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 23, 2017
Next up
Whether it's Sean Spicer, Presidential Counsel Kellyanne Conway, or even Donald Trump himself, the White House has a credibility and trust issue with the media and the American people.
After Trump's recent baseless allegation that Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the election, a new poll released by Quinnipiac poll shows that 60 percent of Americans don't trust the new commander in chief.
