21 of Sean Spicer's most memorable moments

(Image credit: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

last updated 1 October 2018

Sean Spicer, we hardly knew ye.

When he resigned on Friday over the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, Spicer had clocked a total of just 182 days as White House press secretary. But despite having one of the shortest tenures ever, Spicer was easily one of the most memorable spokesmen to ever grace the podium in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.

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Spicer fumed to colleagues after being excluded from the president's meeting with Pope Francis, an administration official told CNN on Thursday. He was eagerly anticipating meeting the pope, but discovered at the last minute that he was not on the shortlist of White House officials selected to join the president for the private audience.Spicer assumed he would be on the list, the official said, adding that meeting the pope was one of the bucket list items Spicer, a Catholic, wanted to check off during his tenure as press secretary. [CNN]

After Spicer spent several minutes hidden in the bushes behind [the Fox News and CNN outdoor sets], Janet Montesi, an executive assistant in the press office, emerged and told reporters that Spicer would answer some questions, as long as he was not filmed doing so. Spicer then emerged."Just turn the lights off. Turn the lights off," he ordered. "We'll take care of this. ... Can you just turn that light off?"Spicer got his wish and was soon standing in near darkness between two tall hedges, with more than a dozen reporters closely gathered around him.[...] Exactly 10 minutes after he started answering questions, Spicer stopped. "Anyway," Spicer said abruptly, "thank you, guys." [The Washington Post]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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