The Sean Job
You’ve undoubtedly heard that, in reaction to the hiring of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, Sean Spicer has resigned as White House Spokesperson (leaving the White House to find someone else to not give press briefings). Sarah Huckabee Sanders will replace Spicer. Given the nature of Trump coverage — and Spicer’s outsized role in it — you probably heard about the resignation within ten seconds of it happening. The news was met with an outpouring of headline puns, internet memes, and a replaying of Spicer’s most comical moments. But in truth, between the scandals, the lies (starting with the nonsensical Inauguration crowd size dispute), the gaffes (most notably, the claim that Hitler never used chemical weapons), and the dangerous attacks on the free press, Spicer’s remarkably brief tenure was anything but funny. Spicer quit over the Scaramucci hire. But he stayed through all the rest of it. Steve Martin famously said comedy is not pretty. That’s about the only thing comedy has in common with the last six months.