Donald Trump Keeps Sean Spicer Around Because He Gets ‘Great Ratings’

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Sean Spicer is not very good at his job. If anyone other than Donald Trump was his boss, the press secretary — who claimed Hitler “didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons,” referred to concentration camps as “Holocaust Centers,” scolded a veteran reporter for shaking her head, revealed his phone number to the world, and routinely offers no evidence for his “facts” — would have been fired long ago. And yet, the president keeps Spicey around. Why?

In an article in the Washington Post (the same publication that reported on Spicer’s first meltdown of a press conference, where he blatantly lied about the crowd size at Trump’s inauguration), the president is quoted as saying, “I’m not firing Sean Spicer. That guy gets great ratings. Everyone tunes in.”

Trump even likened Spicer’s daily news briefings to a daytime soap opera, noting proudly that his press secretary attracted nearly as many viewers. (Via)

Kellyanne Conway would rather “slit my wrists, bleed out, put cement shoes on, [and] jump off the bridge” than have Spicer’s job, but at least he’s more popular than Days of Our Lives. Perception is all the reality show-president cares about, anyway; he’s like a movie star who only watches his scenes.

Trump turns on the television almost as soon as he wakes, then checks in periodically throughout the day in the small dining room off the Oval Office, and continues late into the evening when he’s back in his private residence. “Once he goes upstairs, there’s no managing him,” said one adviser.

In the morning, the president typically flips between Fox & Friends, Maria Bartiromo’s show on Fox Business, and CNBC’s Squawk Box. West Wing aides assert that the president stopped watching MSNBC’s Morning Joe after the show’s hosts grew increasingly critical of his presidency, but some confidants think he still tunes in, especially for the top of the program. (Via)

All that cable news sounds stressful.

Trump should start watching something more relaxing and playful, something like The Leftovers. It’s a comedy compared to real life.

(Via the Washington Post)

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