MSNBC Host Hallie Jackson on Friday confronted former White House press secretary Sean Spicer about the precedent he may have set for his successor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who will be leaving the role at the end of the month.
Jackson asked Spicer if he set a precedent for lying from the podium — on his very first day in the White House, Spicer baselessly claimed that President Trump had the largest inauguration crowd ever — and Spicer was taken aback by the question.
“Do you regret setting that precedent for dishonesty when you were at the podium?” Jackson asked.
“No,” Spicer responded with a laugh.
“No? None? Not at all? None of the things you said that weren’t true, you regret none of them?” the MSNBC host followed up.
“No, I didn’t say that. You said, do you regret setting the precedent. Did I make mistakes, Hallie? Of course I did. And when I did, I tried my best to make up for those,” Spicer then replied before telling Jackson that he hoped she also looked back on times when her “some of your shows or some of your questions” weren’t the best.
“I clearly made mistakes. But do I think I ever engaged in anything that wasn’t the best that I could do at the time? No,” he added.
Jackson pushed back, noting that Huckabee Sanders worked under Spicer at first in the White House and asking if he set the tone for the role.
“In some cases, I think. I mean, that’s a pretty loaded question,” Spicer said in response. “There are days that I look back and for lack of a better word took the bait, and think I could have been a better person and communicator and represented the President better.”
Watch the exchange below:
MSNBC Host Grills Spicer: Did You Set A Precedent For Lying In WH Press Office? pic.twitter.com/VLfyBXjkyw
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) June 14, 2019
