CLEVELAND, Ohio — While White House press secretary Sean Spicer initially seemed to be a good sport about Melissa McCarthy’s scathing impression of him on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, his boss reportedly had a different reaction.
President Donald Trump has been known to fire an angry tweet or two about “SNL” after it pokes fun at him or his administration, but he’s been conspicuously silent about the skit in which McCarthy portrayed Spicer as a gum-swallowing, name-taking lackey who angrily shouts falsehoods and fires a squirt gun at reporters.
According to a report on Politico, the president’s silence was seen in the White House as an indication of just how irked he was by the sketch. Trump’s biggest issue? It’s that Spicer was played by a woman in drag, the report said.
From Politico:
“More than being lampooned as a press secretary who makes up facts, it was Spicer’s portrayal by a woman that was most problematic in the president’s eyes, according to sources close to him. And the unflattering send-up by a female comedian was not considered helpful for Spicer’s longevity in the grueling, high-profile job in which he has struggled to strike the right balance between representing an administration that considers the media the “opposition party,” and developing a functional relationship with the press
“Trump doesn’t like his people to look weak,” added a top Trump donor.
When first asked about the skit on Sunday, Spicer laughed it off, called it funny and even offered McCarthy a note on her performance.
“[She] needs to slow down on the gum chewing; way too many pieces in there,” he told Extra.
The next day on Fox News, Spicer called the impression “cute.” But when Politico brought it up it again later, he refused to say anything more.
“It doesn’t really matter what I think.”
Spicer will probably be asked about it again at his daily White House press briefing this afternoon.
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