Sean Spicer grilled by Megyn Kelly about inauguration crowd size and other false claims
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was grilled on Megyn Kelly Today about President Trump’s inauguration size and the very nature of facts.
Spicer had a tumultuous tenure in the White House, often sparring with the media about the nature of facts and even saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad was guilty of acts worse than Hitler’s. But his contentious relationship with the media was kicked off with his false statement about the crowd size of Donald Trump’s inauguration.
In a press conference, Spicer said, “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period. Both in person and around the globe.”
In fact, the crowd and the TV viewership were both smaller than at President Obama’s inauguration.
When asked by Kelly about those statements, Spicer contended, “If I could have a do-over, I could take it,” but stopped short of saying that the statement was untrue.
The interview was contentious, with Kelly often cutting off Spicer, who attempted to deflect or evade questions.
Kelly rattled off a laundry list of the thousands of false claims by the president, about subjects including Republican presidents who won Wisconsin, tax cuts, and his Electoral College win.
Continuing his claim that Trump “sells” his policies, Spicer responded, “I think there’s several areas where he’s used hyperbole —”
“That’s not hyperbole. Those are not truthful statements,” Kelly asserted.
The full interview on Megyn Kelly Today can be seen here.
Watch: Megyn Kelly blasts Elizabeth Warren over Native American heritage claims:
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