Sean Spicer on Friday shot down the possibility of serving another stint as White House press secretary once Sarah Huckabee Sanders leaves the job later this month.
“Oh, would I go back? Oh no. No, no, no,” Mr. Spicer said during an interview.
“I’ve told the president many times I was honored to do it, but I’m much more happy and relaxed and less stressful now,” Mr. Spicer told MSNBC host Hallie Jackson.
President Trump’s first press secretary, Mr. Spicer resigned after six months in July 2017 and replaced days later by Mrs. Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Mrs. Sanders will be leaving the administration at the end of the month and returning to Arkansas, Mr. Trump announced unexpectedly Thursday on Twitter. Her replacement has not yet been named.
The White House and media have had a frayed relationship since literally the second day of Mr. Trump’s presidency, when Mr. Spicer berated reporters during a press conference over their coverage of the size of the crowd attending Mr. Trump’s swearing-in ceremony and falsely claimed it had been “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration – period.”
Mrs. Sanders has sparred regularly with the media while serving as Mr. Trump’s press secretary, meanwhile, albeit lately less frequently: the White House has not hosted an official press briefing in more than 90 days.
Appearing on MSNC, Mr. Spicer was asked whether he believed he had set a “precedent for dishonesty” by lying to reporters while White House press secretary.
“That’s a pretty loaded question,” responded Mr. Spicer. “There were days that I look back and – for lack of a better word – took the bait, and think I could have been a better person, a better communicator and represented the president better.”
“I admit that I made mistakes. I think we all do. I’m man enough to sit here and say to you I did make them. I hope I can be a better person. I learn from things that I did,” said Mr. Spicer. “But to suggest in any way that I set a precedent is pretty far of a stretch.”
Mr. Spicer, 47, resigned from the Trump administration shortly after Mr. Trump appointed New York financier Anthony Scaramucci to serve as White House director of communications.
Mr. Scaramucci, who was fired from the Trump administration less than two weeks later, similarly indicated Friday he has no plans to return.
“On the fourth day, I was in the shower at the White House, watching my hair go into the drain,” Mr. Scaramucci said on CNN. “I’d like to keep my hair.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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