Van Jones Confronts Sean Spicer: My Kids Would Watch You And Say ‘Daddy, That’s Not True’
HLN’s S.E. Cupp scored an hour-long interview with former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer that aired this afternoon. Besides getting Spicer to admit that he “screwed up” at times on the job, Cupp also brought on CNN political commentator Van Jones to engage Spicer in a bit of banter and ask the ex-flack some pointed questions.
And things did get a little heated at one point.
After the two men seemed to somewhat agree on President Donald Trump’s Twitter habits and how POTUS should focus on more good news surrounding his administration rather than picking fights, the discussion descended into a partisan battle. Spicer took shots at the Obama Administration and its treatment of the press, stating that they tried to kick Fox News out of the White House press pool.
“First of all, you literally just sat mere moments ago and said you wish you would be in a world where people disagreed but then they support the president,” Jones countered. “You guys spent eight years, and Donald Trump the worst offender, trashing President Obama every second of every day. That’s what we are talking about.”
Jones, a former Obama administration official, added that he wasn’t trying to defend what the Obama White House did before pivoting to Spicer’s own mistakes as press secretary.
“I want to tell you something personally — you were somebody who as part of the Republican establishment came into your job with an incredible amount of esteem and respect,” the CNN pundit said. “As a parent, one of the scariest things during the early part of the trump year was to see somebody come out and say something you knew wasn’t true. My children watching, saying ‘Daddy. that’s not true.'”
The ex-press secretary shot back by asking Jones what he thought about Obama officials blaming Benghazi on a video, leading Jones to respond that he was in a low-level position in the Obama administration, compared to Spicer being part of the Trump “hierarchy.”
“Do you understand from a natural person’s point of view, not a Democrat or a Republican, how tough it was for us to watch you talk about some things you can’t defend right now?” Jones would later ask.
Spicer stated that there were some things where he would “need a mulligan” while adding that much of the time his job was to “go out and communicate the voice the president wanted on a particular issue or event.” He also noted that he didn’t mean to drag the Obama administration into the discussion but that mistakes happen in each White House.
Watch the clip above, via HLN.
[image via screengrab]
—
Follow Justin Baragona on Twitter: @justinbaragona
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
