21 of Sean Spicer's most memorable moments
Some are hilarious. Some are maddening. And some are downright pathetic.
![Sean Spicer.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3qcLGq9Cp8zzReUD5kp8Hk-415-80.jpg)
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.
From his famous fights with the press to his losing battles with the English language, times weren't always easy for Spicer. But they were almost always entertaining. Here's a definitive list of Spicer's most memorable moments, ranked from happiest to saddest.
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1. Spicer is really giddy upon meeting Gronk.
2. The Dippin Dots CEO offers White House staff and press corps an ice cream social in response to Spicer's five-year tweet war on the treats.
3. Spicer gets brilliantly mocked by Melissa McCarthy ...
4. ... again and again (but takes it in stride!).
5. Spicer gets yelled at by an entire room of furious reporters.
6. Spicer sends a secret SOS with his upside-down American flag pin.
7. Spicer gets drawn by a courtroom sketch artist after refusing to brief the press on camera.
8. Spicer accidentally tweets his password.
9. Sean Spicer gets owned by Us Weekly.
10. Spicer blames the "floor covering" for making President Trump's inauguration crowd look small.
11. Spicer gets live fact-checked by CNN's communications team.
12. Spicer is forced to seriously explain "covfefe."
13. Spicer's attack on ObamaCare flops.
(The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that an additional 22 million people would be uninsured by 2026 under Senate Republicans' proposed plan than ObamaCare.)
14. Sean Spicer repeatedly cites nonexistent Atlanta terrorist attack.
15. Contradicting the words of Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and literally all evidence, Spicer argues that there is "nothing" to indicate Trump Jr.'s Russia meeting wasn't about adoption.
16. Spicer gets in a fight with April Ryan.
17. Spicer asks The New York Times not to write about him wearing makeup.
18. Stephen Bannon blames the prevalence of off-camera briefings on Sean Spicer getting "fatter."
Neither Spicer nor deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders responded to queries about the changes to the briefings. Asked why the briefings are now routinely held off-camera, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said in a text message "Sean got fatter," and did not respond to a follow-up. [The Atlantic]
19. "Holocaust centers."
20. Spicer is denied the one thing he wants: meeting the pope.
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]
21. Spicer resorts to hiding in the bushes to get away from the press.
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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