There’s no need to be coy, cute, or caustic: Sean Spicer isn’t doing well. After the heads of both the Senate and House Intelligence Committees said they found no evidence former President Obama secretly wiretapped Trump Tower during last year’s election, the White House press secretary was asked on Thursday to respond to President Trump’s baseless claim. It, uh, didn’t go so hot. Spicer told reporters that Trump still (even now!) believes that wiretapping happened. He then went full-on Mellisa McCarthy, angrily countering that the media selectively chooses when to rely on statements from the intelligence committees. Spicer told reporters that when the same committees made statements refuting allegations of Trump’s collusion with Russia, “there was crickets from you guys.”
Spicer all but screamed at Jonathan Karl, ABC News’ chief White House correspondent, demanding, “Where was your passion and where was your concern when they all said that there was no connection to Russia? Where was it then?”
Spicer appears to be holding onto two points. One, that “wiretapping” refers to surveillance generally, not exclusively wiretapping, and two, that forthcoming statements from the Justice Department (which neither intelligence committee collaborated with) will vindicate his boss’s claims. Time will tell if Trump’s surveillance fears are even the slightest bit founded, but let’s spare a few thoughts for the poorly spoken, poorly suited man who has to defend a billionaire’s unhinged 6am tweets. Hang in there, buddy.