Friday, February 17, 2017

The Toughest Job in Washington

For the first time ever, I knew the name and recognized the face of the White House Press Secretary within a few days of the President taking office.

Upon searching for President Obama's most recent secretary, Josh Earnest (whose name rang a bell), my reaction was an, "Oh yeah, that guy." With the exception of Bill Moyers - a fact I only learned in the last couple of weeks - I cannot with good faith tell you I know of any former White House Press Secretaries. I imagine that the average person would say the same. I'd also venture to guess that at no other point in history has the likelihood that the average person DOES know the White House Press Secretary's name and/or face been as high as it is today.

If you don't want to take my word for it, consider that he's been lampooned on Saturday Night Live - twice.

As Press Secretary, Sean Spicer is the spokesman for the White House. His responsibilities include presenting a summary of the President's agenda for the day, offering the administration's reactions to national and international events, and fielding questions from reporters in daily press briefings. He's also the White House Director of Communications - responsible for the administration's communication strategy - after Trump's previous pick for the post mysteriously resigned on Christmas Eve.

In short - Sean Spicer has the toughest job in Washington.

Tougher than the President - who has found remarkable success sticking to his campaign promises with the help of executive orders. Tougher than any of his cabinet members - for whom few have high expectations, or any expectations at all. Tougher than the White House press corps - who apparently still have friends on the inside.

He's responsible for juggling his personal credibility and integrity and the interests of an administration that endorses alternative facts rather than admitting to and correcting falsehoods, all while under the intense scrutiny of the ruler of the free world. So far, not so good.

And worse, the men and women he cultivated valued relationships with during his six year-stint as the communications director for the Republican National Committee sit a few feet away from him each time he takes the podium, watching him intently as he attempts this impossible task.

While the President may bash the media at every opportunity he gets and tweet about fake news with increasing frequency, it is ultimately Spicer who interacts with the victims of the President's abuse on a daily basis. And that, I think, is the toughest job of all.

3 comments:

  1. I'm definitely in agreement here. Sometimes people don't realize the true difficulties that come with working as the eyes, ears, and mouth of an administration. You say "His responsibilities include presenting a summary of the President's agenda for the day, offering the administration's reactions to national and international events, and fielding questions from reporters in daily press briefings." That in itself is a lot. I think a lot of people fail to realize the pressure and stress that comes with this job.

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  2. I do believe that a major part of the press secretary's job is to act as the punching bag for the president's mistakes. He is definitely in a tough position since he basically has to agree with everything Donald Trump does, publicly at least. If Trump messes up, he has to find a way to spin the situation to make it look not as bad. In the weirdest sense, I think Spicer is even more accountable for saying something stupid than Trump is. Trump has already proven that he can push his inane rhetoric to an extreme and still get by. Spicer needs to be the squeaky clean front man for Trump, although I'm not so sure he's doing a great job.

    -Bobby

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  3. The title of your post is entirely accurate on the scope of just how hard it is to be Press Secretary, especially with our current President. Sean Spicer is in for one hell of a ride through this four-year term, as he attempts to juggle Trump’s outrageous behaviors and the media. Spicer will struggle to save what little is left of Donald Trumps’ good name, as the presidency carries on. Do I wish for this to be the case? No. I do not hope that Sean Spicer has any success in preserving whatever good is in the president’s name. My only hope is that Spicer will ensure the media presents the facts accurately to the public, without distorting the truth. But of course, I would be naïve in thinking this possible.

    -Audrey Blow

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