Bill Kristol is stunned by Sean Spicer's 'non-stop dishonesty and irresponsibility'

After long avoiding watching White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's daily press briefings, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol was appalled when he finally tuned in Friday:

Kristol didn't say if there were any Spicer statements in particular he was referring to. On Friday, Spicer clarified President Trump's upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping would not be a "sit around a play patty-cake kind of conversation," mispronounced Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) name, and misstated the amount of money the U.S. is giving up annually on countervailing duties. He also accused Hillary Clinton of making inappropriate "personal" phone calls to Russian President Vladimir Putin, though it's Trump's campaign that is under investigation by the FBI for its alleged ties to Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

And that's just Friday's briefing. Earlier this week, Spicer scolded a veteran White House reporter for shaking her head, called a Politico reporter an "idiot with no real sources," and claimed reporters were so eager to find Trump-Russia ties that "if the president puts Russian salad dressing on a salad tonight, somehow that's a Russian connection."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up