Sean Spicer

Sean Spicer
Spicer in 2017
30th White House Press Secretary
In office
January 20, 2017 – July 21, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputySarah Sanders
Preceded byJosh Earnest
Succeeded bySarah Sanders
White House Communications Director
Acting
June 2, 2017 – July 21, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byMichael Dubke
Succeeded byAnthony Scaramucci
Acting
January 20, 2017 – March 6, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJen Psaki
Succeeded byMichael Dubke
Personal details
Born
Sean Michael Spicer

(1971-09-23) September 23, 1971 (age 52)
Manhasset, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Rebecca Miller
(m. 2004)
Children2
EducationConnecticut College (BA)
Naval War College (MA)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1999–present
Rank Commander
UnitU.S. Navy Reserve
AwardsArmed Forces Reserve Medal with "M" Device
National Defense Service Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal (X2)
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal (X2)
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Expert Pistol Marksman
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
Antarctica Service Medal [1]

Sean Michael Spicer[2] (born September 23, 1971)[3] is a former American political aide who served as the 30th White House Press Secretary and as White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump in 2017. Spicer was communications director of the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017, and its chief strategist from 2015 to 2017.[4]

During his tenure as White House press secretary, Spicer made a number of public statements that were controversial and false,[5][6][7] and he developed a contentious relationship with the White House press corps.[8][9][10] The first such instance occurred on January 21, 2017, the day following Trump's inauguration. Spicer repeated the claim that crowds at Trump's inauguration ceremony were the largest ever at such an event and that the press had deliberately underestimated the number of spectators.[11][12][13] After this statement was widely criticized, Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said that Spicer had presented what she called "alternative facts" regarding the inauguration's attendance numbers.[14]

Spicer resigned as White House Press Secretary on July 21, 2017, although he remained at the White House in an unspecified capacity until August 31.[15][16][17] Since leaving the White House, Spicer has published the memoir The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President, appeared as a contestant on season 28 of Dancing with the Stars, and hosted a political talk show on Newsmax TV.[18][19]

  1. ^ "Military Record 2017 Commander Sean S. Spicer per FOIA Request" (PDF). can.muckrock.com. U.S. Navy/ MuckRock. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nytimes2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference newport was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Sean Spicer: Executive Profile and Biography". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  5. ^ Kessler, Glenn (January 22, 2017). "Spicer earns Four Pinocchios for false claims on inauguration crowd size". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 22, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017. He managed to make a series of false and misleading claims in service of a relatively minor issue....Spicer earns Four Pinocchios, but seriously, we wish we could give five.
  6. ^ Danny Vinik (January 24, 2017). "Spicer makes misleading voter fraud claim to defend Trump's false voter fraud claim". Politico. Pressed for those studies, Spicer then offered a falsehood of his own
  7. ^ Aaron Blake (April 18, 2017). "The White House's misleading statements about Trump's 'armada' heading to North Korea". The Washington Post.
  8. ^ Chris Cillizza (March 17, 2017). "Sean Spicer's Thursday news conference was a new low for the Trump White House". The Washington Post. Spicer has had a contentious relationship with the media since his first appearance on the podium
  9. ^ Ted Johnson (July 21, 2017). "Sean Spicer Resigns as White House Press Secretary". Variety. Spicer had been with the administration from the start, but almost immediately had a contentious relationship with the media.
  10. ^ Kevin Liptak (January 21, 2017). "Reality Check: Sean Spicer hits the media over crowds". CNN. Spicer launched into a tirade against the media Saturday, slamming what he said was unfair reporting of the attendance of President Donald Trump's inauguration, along with other criticisms. Many of the facts he cited, however, are inaccurate.
  11. ^ Nguyen, Tina. "Sean Spicer's Agony Will Never End – to His Boss's Delight". Vanity Fair.
  12. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (March 31, 2017). "For April Ryan, Clashes With the White House Bring a New Kind of Prominence". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017.
  13. ^ Byers, Dylan (February 15, 2017). "Sean Spicer isn't finished". Politics. CNN. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  14. ^ Benwell, Max (January 23, 2017). "White House press conference: When is it, how can I watch it, and what will Sean Spicer say?". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference resignCBS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Thrush was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Santos, Amanda Proença (July 31, 2017). "Scaramucci Sets New Record for Shortest Term as Communications Director". NBC News. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  18. ^ Karl, Jonathan (July 24, 2018). "'The Briefing' Review: Speaking for Himself". The Wall Street Journal.
  19. ^ Alexander, Bryan (November 12, 2019). "'Dancing With the Stars' before the reality show got ugly". USA Today.