Here’s a brief recap of some of the most memorable gaffes and mistakes committed by Spicer.
Inauguration Crowd
Spicer’s first clash with media occurred almost immediately after his appointment as the White House press secretary, when he declared his intent to hold accountable those news agencies that allegedly sought to downplay the number of people that attended US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
But while Spicer claimed that there was “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period”, a simple comparison of videos recorded back then and during the Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in 2013 shows that this wasn’t the case.
Assad and Hitler
During a press briefing when he blamed Syrian President Bashar Assad for allegedly using chemical weapons against civilians in Syria, Spicer claimed that even Hitler "didn’t sink to using chemical weapons."
When puzzled journalists asked the press secretary to clarify this statement, Spicer argued that Hitler apparently didn’t use "the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing", adding that the Nazi victims were brought to “Holocaust centers” to be gassed.
The media did not consider this explanation as satisfactory and Spicer later had to apologize for that remark, calling it "a mistake".
Names Matter
On several occasions Spicer somehow managed to refer to several foreign leaders using wrong names.
For example, during a press briefing on February 14 he referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as 'Joe Trudeau'.
And earlier, during another press conference, he also apparently managed to mispronounce the surname of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, calling him ‘Trumble’ at least twice.
Nevertheless, Spicer tweeted that is was an honor for him to serve his country and his president, and that he will continue his service through August.
It's been an honor & a privilege to serve @POTUS @realDonaldTrump & this amazing country. I will continue my service through August
— Sean Spicer (@PressSec) 21 июля 2017 г.
