<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="time" canonical="https://time.com/4808270/sean-spicer-donald-trump-twitter-statements/" -->

---
title: Sean Spicer: Trump&#x27;s Tweets Are Official Statements
description: President Donald Trump considers his tweets to be official White House statements, according to Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
canonical: https://time.com/4808270/sean-spicer-donald-trump-twitter-statements/
author: Aric Jenkins
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2017-06-06T21:56:43.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T05:17:43.883Z
article:section: Politics
og:title: Sean Spicer: Trump Considers His Tweets Official Statements
og:description: After the ACLU suggests including them in a Supreme Court argument
og:url: https://time.com/4808270/sean-spicer-donald-trump-twitter-statements/
og:site_name: TIME
og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1062b456e17b8c9/6988cafd97cdff40376b074f/170427-sean-spicer-press-secretary-401k-tax.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 675
og:image:alt: 170427-sean-spicer-press-secretary-401k-tax
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Sean Spicer: Trump Considers His Tweets Official Statements
twitter:description: After the ACLU suggests including them in a Supreme Court argument
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1062b456e17b8c9/6988cafd97cdff40376b074f/170427-sean-spicer-press-secretary-401k-tax.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1062b456e17b8c9/6988cafd97cdff40376b074f/170427-sean-spicer-press-secretary-401k-tax.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Sean Spicer Says President Trump Considers His Tweets 'Official' White House Statements


by 

[Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/)


## Aric Jenkins


Jun 6, 2017 9:56 PM UTC

![White House press secretary Sean Spicer calls on a member of the media during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 27, 2017. Spicer discussed former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Trump's tax overhaul plan ](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1062b456e17b8c9/6988cafd97cdff40376b074f/170427-sean-spicer-press-secretary-401k-tax.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

White House press secretary Sean Spicer calls on a member of the media during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington

White House press secretary Sean Spicer calls on a member of the media during the daily press briefing at the White House in WashingtonAndrew Harnik—AP

by 

[Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/)


## Aric Jenkins


Jun 6, 2017 9:56 PM UTC

President Donald Trump considers his tweets to be official White House statements, according to Press Secretary [Sean Spicer.](http://time.com/4797881/sean-spicer-press-briefing-video-hits/)

When asked at a press briefing whether Trump’s tweets qualify as official statements on behalf of the White House, Spicer said that he “is the President of the United States, so they’re considered official statements by the President of the United States.”

The reporter then inquired if Trump is concerned that his tweets could be used against him in matters like the proposed [travel ban.](http://time.com/4802665/donald-trump-travel-ban-supreme-court/) On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/871788779308294147) that it might include Trump’s tweets about the ban in their Supreme Court argument. The ACLU was referencing a series of tweets from the president on Saturday in which he reiterated his definition of the executive order as a “ban,” rather than the “vetting system” label Spicer gave it earlier this year.

“I think we’ve made it clear with respect that the court should follow the law,” Spicer replied. “And I think the danger is real, the law is clear, and there’s no question that we should prevail at the Supreme Court.”

> [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/871674214356484096)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in May that the Justice Department would ask the Supreme Court to review the case, though no timetable has been given.

Federal courts have [struck down](http://time.com/4795466/trump-travel-ban-supreme-court/) differing versions of Trump’s proposed travel bans, which Chief Judge Roger Gregory first said “drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination” in his Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on May 25.

```json
[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4808270/sean-spicer-donald-trump-twitter-statements/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4808270/sean-spicer-donald-trump-twitter-statements/"},"headline":"Sean Spicer Says President Trump Considers His Tweets 'Official' White House Statements","datePublished":"2017-06-06T21:56:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:17:43.883Z","description":"After the ACLU suggests including them in a Supreme Court argument","url":"https://time.com/4808270/sean-spicer-donald-trump-twitter-statements/","keywords":["White House","travel ban","onetime","sean spicer"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1062b456e17b8c9/6988cafd97cdff40376b074f/170427-sean-spicer-press-secretary-401k-tax.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1062b456e17b8c9/6988cafd97cdff40376b074f/170427-sean-spicer-press-secretary-401k-tax.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"170427-sean-spicer-press-secretary-401k-tax","caption":"White House press secretary Sean Spicer calls on a member of the media during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 27, 2017. Spicer discussed former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Trump's tax overhaul plan","creditText":"Andrew Harnik—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4808270/sean-spicer-donald-trump-twitter-statements/","name":"Sean Spicer Says President Trump Considers His Tweets 'Official' White House Statements"}}]}]
```

