There's no room for nuance let alone reality for anyone hoping to keep a job in Donald Trump’s White House anymore. Sean Spicer, whose head has been on the chopping block since his first rocky debut back in January, simply abandoned any shred of realism Tuesday for a fairytale version of Trump's overseas trip that was nauseatingly, indeed laughably, gushy. Jenna Johnson writes:
Spicer channeled his boss as he declared that Trump’s speech to leaders of more than 50 Arab and Muslim nations “was a historic turning point that people will be talking about for years to come” and “was met with nearly universal praise.” He claimed that the president single-handedly “united the civilized world in the fight against terrorism and extremism” and that his meetings at the Group of Seven summit in Sicily “were marked by outstanding success.” [...]
But Spicer isn’t the only White House staffer lavishing praise on Trump.
Over the weekend, White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn — who was the second-in-command at Goldman Sachs before joining the White House — declared the president’s economic development deal with Saudi Arabia to be unlike anything he had seen in his 30 years in business. And Hope Hicks defended the president against accusations that he demeans his staff, issuing a lengthy statement for The Washington Post that read, in part: “President Trump has a magnetic personality and exudes positive energy, which is infectious to those around him. He has an unparalleled ability to communicate with people. . . . He is brilliant with a great sense of humor.”
None of this is really “spin” in the proper sense of the word because, frankly, it's not clever enough and it's directed at an audience of one.
Tommy Vietor, who was a spokesman for President Barack Obama, said former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs once gave him this advice: “The first rule of spin is that it has to be believable.”
That's quaint, Tommy, but so 2008.
At Tuesday's briefing, Spicer finally just admitted what everyone knows Trump believes: "Ultimately, the best messenger is the president himself."
So Spicer likely keeps his job for another day and everyone around Trump scrambles to keep theirs while Trump's 35 percenters keep marveling at how Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious their Dear Leader is and the rest of America laughs, cringes or weeps. Take your pick.
