The Full Hot Press Interview with Sean Spicer

Culture
30 Aug 18

As White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer was given the thankless task of explaining President Trump’s thought processes to the world. Following a series of major howlers – including the Presidential camp’s inflation of the figures at Trump’s inauguration and his comment that not even Hitler sank to using chemical weapons – Spicer eventually left the stage. In his most in-depth ever interview, he talks about life in a bizarrely dysfunctional administration.

There’s a dramatic 10-second pause. We’re halfway through a fascinating conversation with Sean Spicer and he’s just been asked a straightforward question. “Is Donald Trump a loose cannon?”

For a moment, I wondered if the affable Spicer was about to let off some steam – just like Melissa McCarthy’s parodies of him on Saturday Night Live. Why didn’t he just immediately dismiss the question out of hand? Why was he giving the query so much thought? Perhaps he was thinking about going off-piste?

He digested that question for 10 long seconds. What was going on in his mind?