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Spicer on Whether He's Ever Lied to the American People: 'I Don't Think So'

September 21, 2017

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he didn't "think" he had ever lied to the American people in an interview on "Good Morning America" airing Thursday.

Spicer rose to national prominence as the chief spokesman for President Donald Trump; his oftentimes testy press briefings became ratings gold and were famously lampooned on "Saturday Night Live."

He resigned in July after the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as Trump's communications director, making him one of the shortest-tenured press secretaries in White House history.

"Have you ever lied to the American people?" ABC reporter Paula Faris asked.

"I don't think so," Spicer said.

"You don't think so," Faris repeated.

"Nope. I don't cheat on my taxes," Spicer said.

"Unequivocally, you can say no?" Faris asked.

"I—I—look, again—you want to find something—I have not knowingly done anything to do that, no," he said.

Spicer is looking to cash in on his fame, according to reports, but he has struggled to land a book deal and the major TV networks have passed on hiring him as a contributor, saying he has credibility issues.

Asked by Faris about his contentious interactions with the press during his tenure, Spicer said he made some mistakes.

"But to watch some of the personal attacks, questioning my integrity, questioning what my intentions were, I think were really over the top," he said.

Spicer also revealed Trump had praised him for his cameo at Sunday's Emmy Awards, where he poked fun at his infamous claim that Trump's inauguration audience was the largest ever. In the skit, Spicer told host Stephen Colbert the Emmys would have the largest audience of all time.

"He was very supportive. He thought I did a great job, and it was very reassuring," Spicer said.

The ratings wound up almost exactly matching last year's all-time low, however, and Trump took a jab at the politically loaded show from Twitter.