It’s just been announced that Sarah Huckabee Sanders, previously the Deputy Press Secretary, has officially become the White House Press Secretary. Her promotion comes shortly after Sean Spicer’s resignation as press secretary on Friday morning, who opposed Trump’s appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director.
It's been an honor & a privilege to serve @POTUS @realDonaldTrump & this amazing country. I will continue my service through August
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) July 21, 2017
Spicer has often been the center of controversy, gaining infamy for his grossly inaccurate statements and the mocking SNL skits that ridiculed him. One example involves him claiming that Hitler didn’t use chemicals in World War II (Hitler used chemical Zyklon B in gas chambers during the Holocaust to murder millions):
“You had someone as despicable as Hitler didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.”
Instead of acting as a true press secretary, meant to act as a spokesperson for the president and also balance media concerns, Spicer was willing to mislead the public to paint Trump in the best light possible, even claiming that Trump’s inauguration held “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration,” despite clear evidence to the contrary.
In the past few months, Spicer has been making fewer appearances. When he became acting communications director after Mike Dubke’s resignation, Sarah Huckabee Sanders started assuming more of Spicer’s duties. Anthony Scaramucci has just announced that Sanders has officially been promoted to White House press secretary. Previously, Sanders was a senior advisor in Trump’s presidential campaign (after her father, Mike Huckabee, withdrew) and in January, became the White House deputy press secretary.