--- title: Sean Spicer Quit: He Was Losing Trump's TV Game description: If Spicer were on Survivor, he'd be the contestant whose presence is good news for everyone else canonical: https://time.com/4868655/sean-spicer-quit/ author: Daniel D'Addario article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-21T17:27:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:24:32.282Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: In Trump's Reality TV Presidency, Sean Spicer Was the Goat og:description: The format was not his friend og:url: https://time.com/4868655/sean-spicer-quit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt782be07ae77d9d6d/6988c2930a4a22167e9cda93/sean-spicer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4500 og:image:height: 2531 og:image:alt: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer listens to a question during a briefing at the White House April 11, 2017 in Washington. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: In Trump's Reality TV Presidency, Sean Spicer Was the Goat twitter:description: The format was not his friend twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt782be07ae77d9d6d/6988c2930a4a22167e9cda93/sean-spicer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # In Trump's Reality TV Presidency, Sean Spicer Was the Goat > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Sean Spicer's Greatest Hits [Watch (HLS stream): Sean Spicer's Greatest Hits](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fvh1mgxB.m3u8) (4:59)  _Published 2017-05-30. The Sean Spicer show is back after a brief hiatus. The White House press secretary is set to resume his daily press briefing Tuesday afternoon, after taking a break during President Trump's first trip abroad._  by [Daniel D'Addario](https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Jul 21, 2017 5:27 PM UTC  by [Daniel D'Addario](https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Jul 21, 2017 5:27 PM UTC If former _Apprentice_ star Donald Trump’s presidency can more or less be understood through the clichés of reality TV, Sean Spicer was the classic “[goat](http://insidesurvivor.com/survivor-history-origin-of-the-goat-685).” That is to say, if Spicer—who [resigned his post](http://time.com/4868546/sean-spicer-resigns-anthony-scaramucci-donald-trump/) as White House press secretary July 21—were on _Survivor_ or _Big Brother_, he’d be the sort of contestant whose presence in the competition is good news for everyone else. If you’re a reality-TV contestant, you want to bring a goat as deep into the game as you can before cutting them loose. Unschooled in strategy, they’ll vote how you tell them, and they’re always an easy boot. Simple ineptitude is too quotidian for the goat. Such players seem, in part due to savvy editing, to be almost confused as to the rules of the game. When he spoke on camera, Spicer did so live. So he can’t blame the editors. But the format—early in Trump’s presidency, a daily briefing that came to be must-watch TV for a certain type of news consumer—was certainly not his friend. As a character in the daily Trumpland drama, Spicer managed to make banality stand out. In suits that seemed to grip his body like a vise and with his flushing face, the press liaison rose to levels of dudgeon over petty offenses. As a TV figure, he radiated a sort of anti-charisma that gave watching him, for his detractors, a nasty, vicarious thrill. In contrast to the zenned-out sangfroid of administration figures like Kellyanne Conway and Ivanka Trump, Spicer seemed to pulsate off the screen. It was electric, strange, and very watchable. Precisely the things that candidate Trump had been. But the cover act was being carried out by someone with specific job requirements, ones that seemed not to be met. Those in the briefing room with him did not seem to particularly enjoy the experience. Spicer’s very early argument with the press corps over the size of Trump’s inauguration audience didn’t just set a tone, it was a battering-ram. Other press secretaries cajole or trade favors, but this one, seemingly unprepared to bridge his past work experience at more traditional political gigs with a new boss’s very particular demands, convinced himself that brute force would win the game. When it didn’t, Spicer lacked the flexibility to find a new strategy, heightening a beleaguered rage-whine that had already failed to find a sympathetic ear in the mainstream media. It’s easy to read Spicer’s performance, and now his departure, as another black eye for a presidency that’s lost substantial ground in public-opinion polling. (Certainly Melissa McCarthy’s bravura impression of Spicer on _Saturday Night Live_ stuck in many viewers’ memories.) And yet his lack of acuity during the first six months of a presidency with very ambitious goals for reshaping America was addressed in varying ways—including by taking the briefings off-air entirely. That result would seem to neatly coincide with what would be the goals of a presidency dedicated to operating in secrecy. The ultimate purpose of a reality TV goat, after all, is to advance the goals of those players who know what they’re doing. ## Transcript Photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way to minimise the enormous support that had gathered on the National mall. This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration period. Good afternoon everyone. Welcome back. I can sense the love in the room. Yes, I believe that we have to be honest with the American people. I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts. I mean just the other day, he sat down with Martin Luther King Jr. I would call him a civil rights leader. His dad was the civil rights leader. Sean, Sean I have a couple more questions- You get one more. That's a ridic, you're basically, okay Kristen we're going to end this right now. Hunter, Hunter, no. And then, this one is the, I've got the '13 here as well or the 2017. It is literally 100 % the same. Well, first of all, it's not a travel ban. He's using the words that the media is using, but at the end of the day, it can't, hold on, hold on, hold on. It can't be. It's his words. The President himself Called it a ban. I understand. Is he confused or are you confused? No, I'm not confused. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Okay, this is silly. Okay, next. Attack on- Okay, you don't get to just yell out questions. We're gonna raise our hand like big boys and girls. This is government, this is not, and I think that part of the reason the visual is important is that when you actually look at the difference You realize this is what big government does . >> Just gonna say here your pin �� s upside down. John Roberts is always helping me with the fashion tips. Its still upside down. Dont make me make that podium move. [ LAUGHTER ] I have heard this stuff. No, no, hold on- no evidence of wiretapping at Trump Tower so now you �� ve had the House Intelligence Commitee and the the Senate Intelligence Commitee - >> no, no actually here is this quote Johnathan. No, here is the direct quote I thin it's very possible end quote. When we talked about wiretapping, he meant surveillance. [ CROSSTALK ] For a guy who has zero intelligence class. [ LAUGH ] [ CROSSTALK ] Does the President still have complete confidence in FBI Director Comey? There's no reason to believe he doesn't at this time. But even General Flynn was a volunteer of the campaign, and then obviously there's been discussion of Paul Manafort who played a very limited role. Was the White House aware of any contacts between Paul Manafort and Russian operatives or suspected Russian operatives? No [ INAUDIBLE ] Well first I think your headlines are bad. I'm glad to rewrite, I'd be glad to if you'd like, if you guys are looking for some help. Are you looking for a job? Does the President stand by statement that President Obama is a bad or sick guy? I think the president's tweets stand for themselves. I think there's a huge appetite for tax return, tax reform. No, no we don't have that. You've got Russia. If the president puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a Russian connection. I'm sorry that that disgusts you. You're shaking your head. I appreciate it but understand this, that at some point, the facts are what they are, and every single person who has been briefed on this situation With respect to the situation with Russia, Republican, Democrat, Obama- appointee, career have all come to the same conclusion. At some point, April, you're going to have to take no for an answer, with respect to whether or not there was collusion. April. I wanna thank you, Sean. How are you today? I'm fine. And how are you? Fantastic. [ LAUGH ] [ LAUGH ] the answer is that if you gas a baby, if you put a barrel bomb into innocent people. I think you will see a response from this president. That is unacceptable. Someone as despicable as Hitler, who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons. I think I got this but thank you. Are you sure? Maybe. Alright, thanks man, I'll see you in a minute. [ LAUGH ] Hold on. Alright, that was cool. [ LAUGH ] Alright, that was cool. [ LAUGH ] Sean! Sean! Sean! Sean! Sean! Come on, Sean! Sean! What about the Putin call? Sean! Sit right here, wait, no one leaves. No one leaves, sit. Let's see, sit and wait. Let's see. [ CROSSTALK ] considering canceling the daily press briefings? I think he's a little dismayed, as well as a lot of people, that we come out here and try to do everything we can to provide you and the American people with what he's doing on their behalf. and yet, we see time and time again an attempt to parse every little word and make it more of a game of " gotcha" as opposed to really Figure out what the policies are? Why something is being pursued or what the update is on this and I think that's where there's a lot of dismay and I don't thin is something just alone the president feels. 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