Members of the media were briefed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders instead of Sean Spicer on Monday. In fact. the principal deputy White House press secretary struggled to make sense while answering some questions from the press. At one point, she was asked to explain about Donald Trump's tweet, asserting that his proposed policy to block tourists from six Muslim-dominated countries is considered a "travel ban" despite the fact that the administration's lawyers have insisted otherwise.
That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
Sanders said the president's primary concern is national security and protection of his people, and not how people label his proposed travel ban.
When asked to explain Trump's request to the Department of Justice to scrap the revised version of his policy and reconsider the first one, which was also blocked by the Supreme Court, the principal deputy reiterated her previous statement that the US president's top concern is the welfare of the Americans, and not to be "politically correct."
Where is Sean Spicer?
Sanders was extra cautious when she answered questions about Spicer's nonappearance. She said the White House press secretary is currently doing "a little bit of extra duty" which explains his absence for the Monday press briefing. The deputy insisted that it is part of her job to fill in whenever the press secretary is not available.
She added that Spicer's slate has been packed since Mike Dubke resigned as the communications director last week. When Sanders was asked if she is taking over his post as the press secretary, the deputy denied that she was promoted and clarified that she is only filling in for the day.
White House shake-up
Earlier reports claimed the POTUS has not been happy about Spicer's performance over the past couple of months.
Similarly, the press secretary has been indifferent in his previous press briefings, refusing to answer questions from the media and redirecting them to the State Department or Trump's personal attorney for answers.
Spicer was even absent during Trump's meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican after his participation at the G7 summit in Sicily, Italy.
These incidents and more have left so many questions about Spicer's place at the White House, specifically after the POTUS announced his plan to reshuffle his staff members.
Is Spicer leaving his press secretary post? Do we have a new Communications Director? All these questions are left unanswered as Trump's administration has yet to give an update on the planned White House shake-up.
