Sean Spicer assembled a handy list of bad things Democrats said about James Comey and hurried to make a statement to the warm, welcoming arms of Fox Business. But there was an obstacle between Spicer and getting back to the shelter of his podium.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer wrapped up his brief interview with Fox Business from the White House grounds late Tuesday night and then disappeared into the shadows, huddling with his staff behind a tall hedge. To get back to his office, Spicer would have to pass a swarm of reporters wanting to know why President Trump suddenly decided to fire the FBI director.
The idea that the Trump White House was shocked — shocked, mind you — that there was any political reaction to the firing of James Comey, that they expected ditching the guy who was investigating them for collusion with a foreign government on the same day that the grand jury issued subpoenas in that investigation to go down with nothing but yawns and nods, is one of the thinnest lies in a story made up of vapor-thin pretexts. How far in the weeds was Team Trump? Literally in the weeds.
After Spicer spent several minutes hidden in the bushes behind these sets, Janet Montesi, an executive assistant in the press office, emerged and told reporters that Spicer would answer some questions, as long as he was not filmed doing so. Spicer then emerged.
It’s clear that Spicer saw his shadow on emerging, because we’re clearly in for at least six more months of cover-up.
“Just turn the lights off. Turn the lights off,” he ordered. “We'll take care of this. ... Can you just turn that light off?”
Spicer got his wish and was soon standing in near darkness between two tall hedges, with more than a dozen reporters closely gathered around him. For 10 minutes, he responded to a flurry of questions, vacillating between light-hearted asides and clear frustration with getting the same questions over and over again.
Did you check for ticks, Sean? Because with the warm winter due to climate change for inexplicable reasons, it’s a bad tick season.