While this story is nowhere near as important, vital and terrifying as the ongoing and unfolding Trump-Russia-Comey debacle, it’s still worth discussing because this is one of the funniest political stories of the week. Yesterday, the Washington Post published an absolutely hilarious story about how the White House Communications office was scrambling in the wake of James Comey’s dismissal. The WH obviously sent out Kellyanne Conway and Sarah Huckabee Sanders to do link-up interviews in front of the White House, which was one of the saddest attempts at damage control ever. But in the midst of it all, WH press secretary was hiding in some White House bushes. That’s what the Washington Post said. The original story was:
After Spicer spent several minutes hidden in the bushes behind these sets, Janet Montesi, an executive assistant in the press office, emerged and told reporters that Spicer would answer some questions, as long as he was not filmed doing so. Spicer then emerged.
“Just turn the lights off. Turn the lights off,” he ordered. “We’ll take care of this… Can you just turn that light off?”
Spicer got his wish and was soon standing in near darkness between two tall hedges, with more than a dozen reporters closely gathered around him. For 10 minutes, he responded to a flurry of questions, vacillating between light-hearted asides and clear frustration with getting the same questions over and over again.
[From WaPo’s original story via Gizmodo]
The Washington Post waited about ten to twelve hours, then they corrected the story… to say that Spicer was actually AMONG THE BUSHES, not hiding IN THE BUSHES. WaPo issued a correction:
“This story has been updated to more precisely describe White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s location late Tuesday night in the minutes before he briefed reporters. Spicer huddled with his staff among bushes near television sets on the White House grounds, not ‘in the bushes,’ as the story originally stated.”
I can only imagine the spitty, malapropism-heavy rage call to the WaPo from Spicer as the “hidden in the bushes” story went viral. What’s hilarious is that you know Spicer didn’t even realize that by making WaPo issue a correction, he was making the story even bigger. I mean, maybe you could say that was his plan, to distract attention away from the Comey story. But let’s be real: he’s simply that incompetent.
Also: there are rumors that Emperor Bigly isn’t too happy with Spicer this week. Some think Sarah Huckabee Sanders could be in line to be the new press secretary.
Spicer on phone to WaPo: 😡
"I was not IN the bushes!
I was AMONG the bushes!"
Editor: 🙄
Social media manager: 😎 pic.twitter.com/o8TJUsEPRy
— Prof Dynarski (@dynarski) May 11, 2017
Correction: Sean Spicer wasn't hiding in the bushes, he was merely 'among' the bushes https://t.co/JUGxQ0MyWX pic.twitter.com/Xo52F6K5RZ
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) May 11, 2017
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Isn’t Melissa McCarthy hosting SNL? They’ve just written her skit for her…lol
Yeeesssss! Can hardly wait!
Yes, and it’s going to be live on the west coast. I can’t wait!
I bet Spicer was hoping to minimize her material when he demanded no cameras or light. He thought it would be harder to satirize without the accompanying visuals…. but now she just has to stand in bushes and the joke writes itself.
You’ve got to watch the promo SNL posted on YouTube yesterday. Just trust me.
Seriously if they do not do a skit where she is surrounded by tall potted plants SNL is doing it wrong.
That was my first thought, too….Spicey this Saturday night! I think the kids and I will stay up.
Second thought was the Homer Simpsons gif. Perfection.
There will be something with Spicey in the bushes. Please, please, snl writers!!!
He Streisanded himself.
Why the dark though? Is he trying to hide the fact that he’s rotting from the inside like Bannon and pieces were flaking off? Are these people actually aliens living inside meat costumes? I might prefer that, actually.
I’m assuming you’ve seen They Live… yes?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096256/
The osteoporosis endemic in the White House is shocking, have none of them ever seen a Got Milk? ad?
What do you mean by osteoporosis endemic?? Honest question.
A lateral way of referring to all of them as spineless.
Good one !!! Thanks !
I would also proffer scoliosis of the soul.
It’s the perfect image for these dumb clucks.
I am one with the bushes! I am the burning bush! Can’t we bring Bush back?
Nicely done!
here he is, “among the bushes”…
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/03/02/19/3DE3287C00000578-4276072-image-a-57_1488481200611.jpg
@doofus EXCELLENT! that made my day.
beautifully done.
nice work.
Sounds like he was communing with nature and was trying to be one with the earth – thus why no lights. He didn’t want to disturb the aura that had been created. Also, supposedly the reason he is not doing press conferences is that he is doing his military reserve duty at the Pentagon.
Oh god, he’s been reading Goop again, hasn’t he.
I think so! 🙂
He missed an opportunity there – combining his petulant “I’m-gonna-talk-but-only-when-you-turn-off-the-lights” behaviour with Earth Hour. So, he did not hide IN the bushes. He hid AMONG the bushes. Right. Got it. What a prize rw@t.
I love this story so much I read it three times yesterday.
+1
Guilty as well. It was the only source of humor from the darkness.
It was a bit of comic relief, wasn’t it? The writers described the scene so well that I could envision scarecrow and miss potato head side by side, rattling their spin on different cameras, while spice was ‘among’ the shrubbery.
Funny, but let’s address the fact that Spicer baldly stated Rosenstein took it amongst himself to investigate Comey – with no direction from Trump. And yet we now know, from Rosenstein himself, that he did it specifically because Trump told him to.
Yes, Rachel! Such an important point. Thank you for pointing it out!
I don’t care if he was in the bushes, by the bushes, hoovering above the bushed in majestic grandeur, or posing with Pres & Mrs Bush in a family portrait, the PRESS Secretary, who we were subjected to on a daily and unprecedented basis since Jan/Feb, was suddenly, actively, and very obviously avoiding THE PRESS.
What the f√¢k is REALLY going on?!?!?
Trump blindsided his people with firing Comey early in the evening and for once even Spicer knew Trump went too far and he wouldn’t be able to clean this turd. Trump is the only idiot in Washington who didn’t realize the ramifications of firing the head of the FBI while being during investigation.
Right?!? This is such an explosive mess, the man didn’t even have time to collect his bullshit & deflections, I MEAN his facts & thoughts!
LOL! I bet he wanted to make a break for it and run away but knew the cameras will capture the footage and Trump’s “bodyguard” will track him down.
It sounds like he’s lost the plot, I’m actually starting to feel sorry for him.
Like with the “muslim ban”, this administration’s roll out of big events is just sh*tastic. They are so uncoordinated. The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, because this administration is driven by knee-jerk reactions and not logical thinking.
Trump looks for justification for his whims, which is obvious by his results. He’s constantly putting the cart before the horse, the firing before the reason for termination. No wonder his team is always confused.
The right hand doesn’t even know what the right hand is doing.
Can’t wait for SNL’s Spicer Among the Bushes skit. Surely they won’t pass this one up.
I’ve been feeling sorry for Spicer for months. He broadcasts anxiety straight through the TV set. He must be chewing Xanax gum by now.
Its been obvious from his very first press conference the day after the inauguration that he’s under immense pressure – he’s been projecting anxiety and fear via his aggressive/defensive style in dealing with the press. He knows that no one is buying the snake oil he’s being forced to shill on a daily basis by the Trump administration. He has to ‘perform’ as Trump thinks this is all a reality TV show where he controls the narrative and the people in it who work for him. Didn’t Trump once say that he likes Spicer because he gets good ratings?
I’ll bet he wishes he never took the job and am sure he’s hoping he’ll get sacked.
He was among the bushes!!! I can’t. Just like democracy isn’t in the crapper, it’s among the feces!
Huckabee is a stone cold liar. Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. I can see her replacing Spicey very soon. Can’t wait for SNL!
Well, the rotten acorn surely doesn’t fall far from the rotten tree.
Yeah, Huckabee was eerily good at her “poker face.”
I volunteer to poke ‘er face.
That whole family is rotten fruit, including her awful father and dog killing brother!
Hilarious. Every time they talked about it on CNN last night, we laughed harder. Spicers meltdown is definitely coming soon
Hahahaha. Can’t wait to see what SNL do with this.
What was he doing with those poor bushes? Watering them.
Okay, my mind just went where it shouldn’t have. Too many grandboys who do their water business outside because their too busy to come inside.
Okay.
Fine.
He wasn’t hiding IN the bushes. He was “among the bushes.”
Simply more proof that Spicer is bush league.
He was among the bushes. PERIOD. (Remember that classic from his presser that launched McCarthy’s first skit?)
Seriously, I don’t see how the temporary fame, pay, or whatever is worth repeatedly giving inaccurate information.
I also envision how demanding the boss is, as reports said he demanded all hands on deck get on TV that evening. Were the scarecrow and miss potato head just hanging around the office at 6:30 or so, ready to run outside and start defending him?
Nervous breakdown soon? I’d pay to watch it.
ahahaha!! That should be the name of the Spicey tell-all book.
Sean Spicer: Among the Bushes
I cannot stop laughing at this! 😂
I gotta stop reading CB at lunchtime. My iced tea just came out of my nose! OMG, too perfect!
I keep coming back to this story because I get a deep sense of joy reading it. Do you think we’ll find him rocking back and forth in the rose garden when he has his breakdown??
Maybe he was grabbing the bushes; that’s what real men do, right? ‘Grab ’em by the bush’?
Poor stupid Sean is so confused.
The SNL sketch just wrote itself.
Huh I’m wondering how Ivanka and Jared reacted to his or if they even knew ahead of time. Sean Spicer’s days in that White House are numbered. He’ll either resign out of frustration or get kicked to the curb like Comey. I would feel sorry for him but he knew when he signed up for this job the crazy train that went along with it. So yes, I am gleefully enjoying this story. You just know Sean Spicer called WaPo to issue a clarification on this story without realizing it would turn into an even bigger story by calling attention to it.
Unless it affects her financially, Princess Nagini the Corrupt doesn’t care.
Precious Princess Ivanka might be getting worried about her Prince being tangled up in the Russia affair. In order to believe that Prince Jared’s omission of all his Russia connections was an accidental premature submission of an incomplete form, we have to believe
-either his staff submitted the form without checking for his signature
-or Jared signed it without at least glancing through it to make sure everything was there.
Neither seems too likely. He might have thought he could omit the details without consequence until someone explained the risk.
A perfect way to teach prepositions and prepositional phrases.
Spicey: Was he, or was he not….
*in* the bushes…
*among* the bushes…
*with* the bushes…
*behind* the bushes…
*under* the bushes…
*around* the bushes…
*”of”* the bushes…(oooooh…meditative!)
*on* the bushes…
Not prepositions but let’s add … far worse than the Bushes
Why is Trump upset with Spicer? Is it because Spicer finally grew a backbone and told Trump “no”? Sarah is worse than Spicer, but not worse than Kellyanne. Why do the press even bother to attend these press releases with Spicer and Sarah because every word of of Spicer’s and Sarah’s mouths are lies.