Sean Spicer is reportedly out as press secretary, or a least in how the job as been traditionally viewed. Spicer will now hold his briefings off camera, with no video or audio recording allowed, and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has an interesting excuse for why the change was made.
Bannon on Spicer
Not long after Donald Trump pulled off the shocking upset during the 2016 presidential election with a win over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, his transition team worked to put together who would be surrounding the new president in the White House.
While many controversial names had been added and nominated to various positions in the administration, Sean Spicer being chosen to become to the new White House Press Secretary received little backlash. However, as time went on, Spicer came under fire for how he handled the daily press briefings at the White House. The most notable example took place when Spicer failed when comparing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Adolf Hitler, while claiming the Nazis never used chemical weapons during World War 2. Spicer then became the butt of a joke when actress Melissa McCarthy took on the role of the press secretary during multiple episodes of "Saturday Night Live." In recent weeks, Spicer has held several off-camera press briefings, which became official as confirmed in a report by CNN.
As reported by the Atlantic on June 20, Steve Bannon elaborated on why Spicer would no longer be the on-camera press secretary.
Steve Bannon Explains White House Press Briefing Disruption: ‘Sean Got Fatter’ https://t.co/yKahZnQQ1W pic.twitter.com/uzlRAUtkgH
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) June 20, 2017
The daily press briefings at the White House had become a must-watch event as Sean Spicer clashed with reporters while attempting to defend Donald Trump over his policies and controversial rhetoric.
As the two sides clashed on a weekly basis, it appears that it will no longer be the case. CNN's Jim Acosta ripped into the White House on Monday for continuing to hold briefings off camera, tweeting, "This is a WH that is stonewalling the news media. Hiding behind no camera/no audio gaggles."
The White House press briefing is slowly dying, reports @RosieGray https://t.co/zCqYiCOHbp pic.twitter.com/CKuKmVPudh
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) June 20, 2017
Once the off-camera briefings became official, the Atlantic reported further, explaining that Steve Bannon had sent a text message that simply replied "Sean got fatter," which has since gone unanswered.
As of press time, neither Sean Spicer nor the White House have responded to Bannon's remarks.
The White House is mulling a new away-from-the-podium role for press secretary Sean Spicer, a WH official said https://t.co/vX0pu6Ry2L pic.twitter.com/vnmDVuht5D
— CNN (@CNN) June 20, 2017
Moving forward
With Sean Spicer out as the on-camera press secretary, it's unknown how the White House will handle their meetings with the press in the future. Fox News reported on Monday night that Spicer was being offered a potential promotion by running the entire communications division, which would see him get a bump in the administration, while avoiding the interaction with the press.
