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Two months after leaving the Trump administration, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer says he’s not trying to rehabilitate his image—which is good, because he’s doing a very bad job at it.
Instead, he’s embarked on a sort of anti-rehab tour, in which he doubles down on all the qualities that made him a national punchline. Spicer, who made a surprise cameo at the Emmys on Sunday to joke about his reputation for making false statements to the public, appeared on Good Morning America on Thursday, where he was asked point-blank if he had ever lied to the American people. “I don’t think so,” Spicer said. He was asked a second time. Spicer’s eyes flicked to his left, then he glanced upwards, and he continued: “Look, I have not knowingly done anything to do that, no.”
Asked by @paulafaris if he ever lied to the American people, Sean Spicer says, "I don't think so."https://t.co/SsDGoEeOGz pic.twitter.com/pemjydOvJF
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 21, 2017
Although that, in itself, was a lie, Spicer nonetheless turned his fire on his critics, telling GMA’s Paula Faris that “the personal attacks, questioning my integrity…you know, what my intentions were, I think, were really over the top.”
Seemingly determined to show that he has not, in fact, learned anything, Spicer has also reached new heights in stonewalling reporters. On Wednesday, when Axios‘ Mike Allen texted him for a comment for a story on the role Spicer’s notebooks may play in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Spicer wrote back to demand Allen stop bothering him—or he would contact “legal authorities”:
Per my text:
Please refrain from sending me unsolicited texts and emails
Should you not do so I will contact the appropriate legal authorities to address your harassment
Thanks
Sean M Spicer
Please do not call or text Sean Spicer.