On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Donald Trump wasn’t being literal when he called his new deportation efforts a “military operation.” Spicer said Trump was only using the term as an “adjective” and that no actual military members will help with deportation.
Rumors had swirled the Trump administration was considering using the National Guard to round up undocumented immigrants, but the White House debunked the story. But with the Department of Homeland Security bestowing more powers to ICE to help speed up the deportation process, it makes people nervous. Spicer contends that people are just overacting: “The president was using that as an adjective. It is happening with precision. The president was clearly describing the manner in which this is being done.”
Later in the press briefing, Spicer hinted there might be a crackdown on medical marijuana. He said while he understands people use marijuana for their ailments, he made it known that they may have “greater enforcement” over recreational marijuana:
“[Trump] understands the pain and suffering that many people go through who are facing especially terminal diseases, and the comfort that some of these drugs, including medical marijuana, can bring to them…recreational marijuana, that’s a very, very different subject…I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement of it.”
But Spicer saved the best for last when he got into a tiff with New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush over press room etiquette. In what seems like a situation plucked out of an SNL sketch, Spicer chastised Thrush:
“Glenn, this isn’t a TV program. You don’t get to just yell out questions. We’re going to raise our hands like big boys and girls.”
This really just happened.
Spicer: "You don't get to just yell out questions. We're going to raise our hands like big boys and girls." pic.twitter.com/OAuf4y7pNp
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 23, 2017