5 Awkward Moments From Sean Spicer's 'The President and the Press' Talk at the Newseum
On the heels of his Hitler comment, Press Secretary Sean Spicer spoke with MSNBC's Greta Van Susteren at the Newseum's "The President and the Press" event Wednesday. The timing couldn't have been worse. Here are 5 of the talk's most awkward moments:Â
1. The Holocaust GaffeÂ
“I made a mistake," Spicer told Van Susteren, who wasted no time in getting to the controversy at hand. "There’s no other way to say it. I got into a topic that I shouldn’t have and I screwed up."
2. Trump's "Enemy of the People"Â
"I assume you get complaints in the media," Van Susteren led in.Â
In response, Spicer concluded the biggest issue was "access... to the parking lot, to the front lawn, trees, there's nothing they don't want access to."
"And other complaints in the press?"Â she persisted. "I'm just seeing how to facilitate a better relationship between the press and the White House."
Again, Spicer dodged the question, calling the media "naturally combative," as if Trump's "fake news" claims for months were irrelevant.Â
3. The White House Correspondents' DinnerÂ
"Nobody's going!" Van Susteren exclaimed in her final minute with Spicer. "The president's not going, and members of the White House aren't going! Why?"
"I don't think that we should fake it," Spicer concluded, given "the relationship and the coverage that we've gotten."Â
4. Trump's TweetingÂ
Spicer's disdain for anonymous sources, particularly from social media, was met with a fantastic rebuttal.Â
"Isn't it kind of a two-way street though, because even the president will tweet [stink bombs]... for instance, that he's being surveilled, or that he was surveilled, by President Obama," Van Susteren pointed out. "We don't get the sources on that, and yet, they're rather dramatic assertions."Â
5. The Jared Kushner/Steve Bannon Feud
Spicer chalked up the infighting to a "healthy" and "spirited debate."
"The president has brought together an unbelievable team of successful individuals," Spicer told Van Susteren. For example, chief strategist "Steve [Bannon]'s understanding of the policies the president campaigned on and how to enact them."Â
Policy-wise, Bannon is best known for crafting Trump's highly controversial and swiftly blocked immigration ban.Â