Trump seeks to fix his image as spin doctor quits

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has resigned over hiring of new communications aide. File picture: Evan Vucci/AP

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has resigned over hiring of new communications aide. File picture: Evan Vucci/AP

Published Jul 21, 2017

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Washington - White House spokesman Sean

Spicer resigned on Friday, ending a brief and turbulent tenure

that made him a household name, amid further upheaval within

President Donald Trump's inner circle.

A White House official confirmed the departure of Spicer,

45, and said Trump had named former Wall Street financier

Anthony Scaramucci as his new top communications official.

While not a surprise, Spicer's departure was abrupt and

reflected the turmoil in Trump's legal and media teams amid a

widening investigation of possible ties between Trump's campaign

and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Parodied memorably by actress Melissa McCarthy on the

"Saturday Night Live" television comedy show for his combative

encounters with the White House press corps, Spicer became one

of the Trump administration's most recognized figures.

From the beginning, he invited controversy, attacking the

media in his debut appearance as press secretary for reporting

what he called inaccurate crowd numbers at Trump's inauguration.

"This was the largest audience to ever witness an

inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe," he

said, an assertion that quickly drew scorn.

The White House official gave no reason for Spicer's

resignation. The New York Times reported he quit over

Scaramucci's appointment. Spicer had been serving as press

secretary and communications director.

"It's been an honor & privilege to serve @POTUS

@realDonaldTrump & this amazing country," Spicer wrote in a

Twitter post on Friday. "I will continue my service through

August."

It's been an honor & a privilege to serve @POTUS @realDonaldTrump& this amazing country. I will continue my service through August

— Sean Spicer (@PressSec) July 21, 2017

Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was scheduled to give

an on-camera briefing on Friday afternoon at the White House,

which had offered no official statement by early afternoon on

Spicer's resignation.

Newly-appointed Press Sec. Sarah Huckabee Sanders reads statement from Pres. Trump on resignation of Sean Spicer. https://t.co/Mi3Mv3ZT2j pic.twitter.com/qjNVH2RpUu

— ABC News (@ABC) July 21, 2017

Before being tapped by Trump for the job of press secretary,

Spicer was spokesman for the Republican National Committee. He

also had previously worked in the administration of former

President George W. Bush, a time when he dressed up in an Easter

Bunny costume for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

Spicer and other Trump aides shook up White House dealings

with the media, including cutting back daily televised news

briefings and replacing them with audio briefings only.

Separately, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is

investigating the possible Trump-Russia ties, has asked White

House officials to preserve any records of a meeting last year

between the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and a

Russian lawyer, a source with knowledge of the request said on

Friday.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday brushed off sharp

criticism from Trump, saying he loved his job and planned to

continue serving. Trump took a broad swipe at his

administration's top law officers this week in a New York Times

interview, saying he would not have appointed Sessions as

attorney general if he had known he would recuse himself.

Unrest among White House officials was not confined to legal

and communications staffers, said two officials familiar with

the situation.

Trump has ignored the recommendations of national security

adviser H.R. McMaster and his senior director for Russia, Fiona

Hill, on dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the

officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

They said McMaster is frustrated by continuing debate about

sending more US forces to Afghanistan. One official said

tension persists between internationalists such as McMaster and

America First advocates, led by chief White House strategist

Steve Bannon and chief speechwriter Stephen Miller.

Reuters

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