Ever since Donald Trump’s instantly disastrous presidential career began, Sean Spicer has been pretty much everyone’s punching bag. Trump’s critics knock him for being a general buffoon, for doing a poor job of clarifying Trump’s bizarre ramblings, and for lying as often as possible, but he also has to endure Trump and his supporters complaining about how bad he is at presenting Trump’s completely cogent and thoughtful ramblings, for not lying often enough, and for being a general buffoon. Things got so bad for Spicey back in May that a Fox News contributor claimed she was being considered as his replacement, and then Trump squashed his only dream by refusing to let him meet the Pope.
Now, though, Spicer may finally be stepping down as White House press secretary. He’s not being fired, of course, because that would require Trump to openly acknowledge the terrible job he’s been doing, but CNN is reporting that Spicer might be getting a new gig within Trump’s White House that explicitly keeps him from having to regularly address the public. Details are scarce, but deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement saying that Spicer is still “managing both the communications and press office,” but that the White House is looking to “expand” its “communications operation.”
The implication here is that Spicer would be “promoted” to some kind of managerial role that would make it look like he’s taking on a bigger position within the Trump administration, but it seems fairly likely that this would just be a bit of PR spin to make it look like things are going fine. After all, it would be weird for rumors to come out a month ago about him being replaced only for Trump to give him a big promotion instead. CNN notes that it’s unclear when Spicer might be moved into a new position, but an official from within the White House says that it all “seems chaotic” at this moment.