The Briefing

by Sean Spicer

  Those words resonated with me.

  So, would I do it again? Yes. I believe that God has a plan, and this was part of it. Some days, I was tested, but many days I got to be part of history, share my experience with family and friends, and help American citizens in some small way.

  I hope to play a role in creating a more constructive dialogue and restoring civil discourse. I will strive to be less aggressive and accusatory, less judgmental, more patient, and more understanding. Will I be perfect? No. But will I try, and I will learn.

  As I have traveled around the country, appearing at events and offering some ideas on how to repair our broken politics and our broken media, I have enjoyed having a platform that allows me to help find solutions that move our country forward in a constructive manner.

  I have valued spending more time on causes I care about—caring for our veterans, curing cancer, and supporting adoption.

  Spending time with my family, my mom, my wife, and my kids has been the best part. I now have time to attend—and enjoy—my kids’ soccer, lacrosse, and baseball games, as well as their scout meetings and dance recitals.

  And I also feel a deepening appreciation for the family and faith that makes me stronger. Through all the ups and downs that happened to me, the one thing that helped was knowing that I will always have this foundation of a family that is always going to support me.

  I often wish my father could see me now. I wish that we could talk about all that has happened and share all that is yet to come. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him and how he looked at every day and every person. He lived his final days to his fullest, caring about others and focused on his family. I hope I can do the same.

  Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.

  —Psalm 141:3, NIV

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book—including my life stories and life lessons—couldn’t have been possible without being surrounded by talented, supportive people who have shared their lives with me along the way.

  My mom and dad. Thank you for all the sacrifices you made over the years . . . and for your never-ending patience, support, and love.

  My wife, Rebecca—you have been my partner, my supporter-in-chief, my best friend, my editor, and a great mother to our amazing children, Rigby and Will. I couldn’t have done any of this without you by my side.

  My family: sister Shannon; brother Ryan and sister-in-law, Emma; nephews Harry and Bo; niece Josephine; mother-in-law Sally Miller; and Gabi Salas.

  The Grossman, Martel, and Connelly families.

  The President, Mrs. Trump, and the Trump family.

  The Vice President and Mrs. Pence.

  Reince Priebus. There is no question that had President Bush, Mrs. Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Reince not taken a chance on me in 2011, I would not have had the opportunity to serve in this White House.

  John Sankovich, Elizabeth Manresa and Teddy Eynon, Jeff and Ginger Snyder, Ron and Sara Bonjean, Arthur Schwartz, Ben Waisbren, Jason Miller, Sean Hannity, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Tommy Hicks, Brian Jones, Ted Kratovil, Ed Gillespie, Chris Swonger, Cliff Hobbins, Tim and Joy Csanadi, Karen and Stew Abramson, Laura Fogarty Nerney, Jennifer Boland Mayer, Karen Urbaniak Anderson, Sarah and Bryan Sanders, Newt Gingrich, Raj Shah, Lindsay Walters, Vanessa Morrone, Kirsten Kukowski, Gretchen Reiter, Joe and Alyx Grogan, Mike Dubke, Jessica Ditto, and Ryan Mahoney.

  My former colleagues from Capitol Hill and the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and my former bosses: U.S. Senator John Chafee, David Griswold, U.S. Representative Frank LoBiondo, Mary Annie Harper, U.S. Representative Mike Pappas, Jeffrey Krilla, U.S. Representative Mark Foley, Kirk Fordham, U.S. Representative Dan Burton, U.S. Representative Clay Shaw and Emily Shaw, Eric Eikenberg, U.S. Representative Tom Davis, John Hishta, U.S. Representative Jim McCrery, U.S. Representative Jim Nussle, Rich Meade, U.S. Representative Deborah Pryce, Andrew Shore, Ambassador Susan Schwab, Ambassador Karan Bhatia, Ambassador John Veroneau, Ambassador Peter Allgeier, and Tim Keeler.

  The White House staff; the Residence staff; the White House operators; the military aides to the President; the White House Military Office; the White House stenographers; Rickie Niceta and the Office of the Social Secretary; the White House Visitors Office; Lindsey Reynolds and the First Lady’s Office; the officers of the Secret Service; the public affairs office of the Secret Service; the special agents of the Secret Service; the Alexandria Police Department, especially Sergeant Wilbur Salas and Officer Francis Powers; the White House Medical Unit, especially Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson and the doctors and staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center; the White House Communications Agency; the team at the Navy Mess; White House Airlift Operations, especially the crew of Marine One, Colonel Bruce Ybarra, Colonel Alex Miravite, and the crew of Air Force One.

  My colleagues at the RNC, the campaign staff, the transition staff, and the White House staff: Jeff Larson, Chris Carr, Billy Skelly, Bill Steiner, Sharon Day, Rick Wiley, John Phillipe, Dirk Eyman, Mike Gilding, Cara Mason, Angela Meyers, Tony Parker, Anna Epstein, Mark Isaacson (one of the most talented writers I have ever come across), the amazing, award-winning RNC video team (Josh Sharp, Matt Mazzone, and Lauren Hernandez), Annie LeHardy, Alexa Henning, Keith Schiller, Ashley Mocarski, Boris Epshteyn, Brad Rateike, Caroline Magyarits, Carolina Hurley, Catherine Hicks, Clay Shoemaker, Dan Scavino, Elizabeth Oberg, Giovanna Coia, Helen Aguirre Ferre, Hope Hicks, Janet Montesi, Julia Hahn, Kaelan Dorr, Kate Karnes, Kelly Love, Kellyanne Conway, Lara Barger, Leah Le’Vell, Michael Short, Natalie Strom, Ninio Fetalvo, Ory Rinat, Sofia Boza, Stephanie Grisham, Steven Cheung, Jason Chung, Thomas Tsaveras, Marcia Kelly, Joanna Spicer, Marcus Tenenbaum, Jonathan Akhondi, Katie Gibson, Andrew Good, Chris Kitter, Betty Moore, Michael Anton, Michelle Meadows, Benjamin Weiser, Avi Berkowitz, Casey Finzer, Daniel Fisher, Andrew Bremberg, Ben Key, Mary Salvi, Cassie Smedlie, Steve Bannon, Ryan Mahoney, Rick Gorka, Jason Chung, Scott Parker, Lars Trautman, Colin Spence, Naji Filali, John Kashuba, Brett Federly, Kerry Rom, Mike Abboud, Zach Parkinson, Jeff Brownlee, Jim Fellinger, Duncan Braid, Richard Sant, Christina Vucci, Christine Callahan, Anthony Trecoci, Eric Schultz, Molly Harp, Macie Leach, Harry Fones, Mike Mears, Chad Connelly, Matt Pinnell, Justin Johnson, Lauren Hernandez, David Wilezol, Dennis Wright, Caroline Anderegg, Garren Shipley, Lani Short, Alex Stroman, Telly Lovelace, Ruth Guerra, Anna Sugg, Raffi Williams, Orlando Watson, Brittany Cover, James Hewitt, Marlon Bateman, Steve Guest, Sara Sendek, Johanna Persing, Lindsay Jancek, Matt Alonzana, Caroline Swan, Ben Key, Sara Armstrong, Sean Cairncross, Mike Shields, Liam O’Rourke, Connor McGuire, Brent Seaborn, Chris Young, Katie Walsh, Jon Black, Shealah Craighead, Myles Cullen, Andrea Hanks, Joyce Boghosian, Nick Ayers, Marc Lotter, Jarrod Agen, Josh Pitcock, John Whitbeck, Ron Kaufman, Brad Parscale, the RNC War Room, the 168, Tinna Jackson, Joe Hagin, Mike Ambrosini, Patrick Clifton, Stefan Passatino, Molly Donlin, Steve Duprey, Orlando Watson, Bettina Inclán, Raffi Williams, Dwayne Barrett, Tory MaGuire Sendek, Rebecca Helig, Mike White, Ken and Keith Nahigian, Danielle Hagen, Megan Badasch, Anna Stallmann, Anne Marie Hoffman, Rick Ahearn, George Gigicos, Casey Smith, Mick Mulvaney, Gary Cohn, Ashley Marquis, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Daniel Shanks, Special Agent Joel Heffernan, Eli Miller, Steven Mnuchin, Lewis Eisenberg, Ray Washburne, Ron Weiser, Ronna Romney McDaniel, Marc Short, Stephen Miller, Josh Raffel, H. R. McMaster, Ricky Waddell, Rick Dearborn, Richard Grenell, Renee Hudson, Mallory Hunter, Cassidy Dumbauld, John DeStefano, Sean Doocey, Shahira Knight, Kirk Marshall, Elizabeth Steil, Rob Lockwood, Alex Angelson, Christine Toretti, Woody Johnson, Chris Applegate, Mike Vallente, Mike Omegna, Bob Carey, Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, Andrew Giuliani, and George Sifakis.

  My Navy and military family: General Joseph Dunford, General Paul Selva, Vice Admiral John Cotton, Dana White, Brigadier General Edward Thomas, Rear Admiral James Carey, Captain Greg Hicks, Captain Paula Dunn, Captain Mike Dean, Captain John Lundberg, Colonel Pat Ryder, Colonel T. J. Rain
sford, Colonel Jeffrey Dolsen, the Joint Staff Public Affairs Office, Lieutenant Commander Jason Laber, Lieutenant Commander Mike Peters, Lieutenant Commander Luke Riano, Lieutenant Kenyon Anderson, Commander Michael Husband, the Joint Staff North Unit, CHINFO, and the Navy PAO community.

  The former press secretaries who reached out to offer their advice and counsel: Josh Earnest, Mike McCurry, Marlin Fitzwater, and Robert Gibbs. A very special thanks to Dana Perino and Ari Fleischer for the countless times you answered a call or sent an email to share your wisdom.

  Dr. Howard Safran and the team at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at The Miriam Hospital for the care they provided to my father. We are also in debt to Kim Sierra, my father’s physical therapist, who guided him to an early diagnosis.

  The Basilica of St. Mary, its parishioners, and school—thank you for the prayers and support, especially the Very Reverend Edward Hathaway, the Reverend Andrew Haissig, the Reverend Nicholas Barnes, Janet Cantwell, Carmen Federle, and Elena Otero-Bigg. A special thanks to our former pastor, the Reverend Dennis Kleinmann, and Bishop Michael Burbidge.

  Portsmouth Abbey School and its monastic community; the International Catholic Legislators Network and its leader, Christiaan Alting von Geusau; the staff of the Army Navy Country Club; and the board of directors and staff of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, especially CEO Craig Purser and CFO Kim McKinnish.

  Virginia and Brian Norment, Sue Hensley and John Robusto, Christin and Martin Baker, Jeff and Michelle Solsby, Dawn and Jeremy Stump, Beth and John Ladd, Mandy and Adam Hayes, Maggie and Larry Hayward, and many other Alexandria neighbors.

  Tony Oranato; Kay Foley; Susanna Quinn; Tammy Haddad; Sean Curran; Catherine Milhoan; Daphne Barak; the team at Worldwide Speakers Group, especially Bob Thomas and Dan Sims; Michael Gruen; Matt Zimmerman; Robin Goldman; Joy Deevy; Rob Lowe; the staff at Essex House in New York; Mickael Damelincourt; Daniel MahDavian; the staff at the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C.; John Fredericks; Larry O’Connor; the team at EWTN; John Gizzi; Elaine Hackett; Brandon Bell; Allan Fung; Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and Michele Soon-Shiong; Alexandria Republicans; Chris Battle; Joe Zarbano at WEEI; the New England Patriots; and Robert and Jonathan Kraft.

  Keith Kellogg; Peter Navarro; Marc Adelman; Jordan Karem; Madeleine Westerhout; Justin Clark; David Urban; Chris Marston; Mo Elleithee; David Axelrod; Gerrit Lansing; Gary Coby; and John McEntee.

  Mel Berger and the team at William Morris Endeavor; Biteback Publishing; and the team at Regnery Publishing, including Marji Ross, Harry Crocker, Alyssa Cordova, Lauren McCue, Elizabeth Steger, Nicole Yeatman, Andres Taborda, and Chris Pascuzzo.

  To the thousands of people who told us they were praying for us and the country.

  And to God the Father, from whom all blessings flow. He has blessed me with having all of you in my life. Thank you.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  SEAN SPICER has served as White House press secretary and communications director as well as Republican National Committee communications director and chief strategist. He also worked for the United States Trade Representative and several members of Congress. A graduate of the Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island, Connecticut College, and the United States Naval War College, he is a commander in the United States Navy Reserve. Spicer is also the founder and president of Rigwil, LLC, a strategic consulting firm for corporate and association executives. A frequent public speaker and commentator, he lives with his family in Alexandria, Virginia. For more information, visit SeanSpicer.com.

  LIKE REGNERY ON FACEBOOK FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

  NOTES

  Chapter One: It’s Over

  1. Eliza Relman, “Scaramucci called Trump a ‘hack’ in 2015 and now says the president ‘brings it up every 15 seconds,’ ” Business Insider, July 21, 2017, http://www.businessinsider.com/scaramucci-comments-about-trump-2015-hack-2017-7.

  2. Brian Stelter, “Three journalists leaving CNN after retracted article,” CNN, June 27, 2017, http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/26/media/cnn-announcement-retracted-article/index.html.

  3. Heather Timmons, “What happens now to Scaramucci’s $180 million SkyBridge Capital deal with China’s HNA Group?” Quartz, July 31, 2017, https://qz.com/1042680/anthony-scaramucci-fired-what-happens-now-to-scaramuccis-180-million-skybridge-capital-deal-with-the-chinas-hna/.

  Chapter Two: Against the Odds

  1. Nate Silver, “Final Election Update: There’s A Wide Range Of Outcomes, And Most Of Them Come Up Clinton,” FiveThirtyEight, November 8, 2016, http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/final-election-update-theres-a-wide-range-of-outcomes-and-most-of-them-come-up-clinton/.

  2. Josh Katz, “Who Will Be President?” New York Times, last updated November 8, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/upshot/presidential-polls-forecast.html.

  3. Keith J. Kelly, “Newsweek prints ‘Madam President’ issue before election even happens,” New York Post, last updated November 8, 2016, https://nypost.com/2016/11/08/newsweek-prints-madam-president-issue-before-election-even-happens/.

  4. Drew Magary, “Donald Trump Is Going To Get His Ass Kicked On Tuesday,” Deadspin, November 6, 2016, https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/donald-trump-is-going-to-get-his-ass-kicked-on-tuesday-1788618628.

  5. “Our Final 2016 Picks,” Sabato’s Crystal Ball, UVA Center for Politics, November 7, 2016, http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/our-final-2016-picks/.

  6. James K. Glassman, “How to Sink an Industry and Not Soak the Rich,” Washington Post, July 16, 1993, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/07/16/how-to-sink-an-industry-and-not-soak-the-rich/08ea5310-4a4b-4674-ab88-fad8c42cf55b/?utm_term=.dd4ebdf3652c.

  7. Ibid.

  Chapter Three: Lessons Learned

  1. Ewen MacAskill, “Donald Trump bows out of 2012 US presidential election race,” The Guardian, May 16, 2011, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/16/donald-trump-us-presidential-race; Shannon Travis, “Was he ever serious? How Trump strung the country along, again,” CNN, May 17, 2011, http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/16/trump.again/index.html.

  2. Shannon Travis, “Was he ever serious? How Trump strung the country along, again,” CNN, May 17, 2011, http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/16/trump.again/index.html.

  3. Ibid.

  4. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, et al., “The 2006 Elections: The Voters; Rumsfeld Resigns; Bush Vows ‘To Find Common Ground’; Focus Is on Virginia,” New York Times, November 9, 2006, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7D61E3FF93AA35752C1A9609C8B63&pagewanted=all.

  5. “Remarks at a White House Meeting With Business and Trade Leaders,” The American Presidency Project, Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, accessed March 20, 2018, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39140.

  6. Becket Adams, “ ‘Paid Democratic Hitman’: Stephanopoulos’ Bizarre Debate Question on Contraception Suddenly Makes Sense,” TheBlaze, February 14, 2012, https://www.theblaze.com/news/2012/02/14/paid-democratic-hitman-stephanopoulos-bizarre-debate-question-suddenly-makes-much-more-sense.

  Chapter Four: Meeting Trump

  1. “Full text: Donald Trump announces a presidential bid,” Washington Post, June 16, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/06/16/full-text-donald-trump-announces-a-presidential-bid/?utm_term=.be5859d083a0.

  2. Steve Benen, “RNC: Trump’s immigration rhetoric ‘not helpful,’ ” MSNBC, June 17, 2015, http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/rnc-trumps-immigration-rhetoric-not-helpful.

  3. Linda Qiu, “Trump: I called McCain a ‘hero’ four times,” PolitiFact, July 19, 2015, http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jul/19/donald-trump/trump-i-called-mccain-hero-four-times/.

  4. Ben Schreckinger, “Trump attacks McCain: ‘I like people who weren’t captured,’ ” Politico, July 18, 2015, https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/trump-attacks-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured-120317.

  5. Russell Goldman, “Candy Crowley Defends Her Libya Comment During Presidential De
bate,” ABC News, October 17, 2012, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/candy-crowley-defends-libya-comment-presidential-debate/story?id=17500587.

  6. Patrick Howley, “Romney breaks silence on Candy Crowley’s debate interference,” Daily Caller, January 27, 2014, http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/27/romney-breaks-silence-on-candy-crowleys-debate-interference/.

  7. Ian Schwartz, “Trump: I Will Not Pledge To Endorse Republican Nominee, Not Run As Independent,” RealClearPolitics, August 6, 2015, https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/08/06/trump_i_will_not_pledge_to_endorse_republican_nominee.html.

  8. MJ Lee, et al., “Donald Trump signs RNC loyalty pledge,” CNN, last updated September 3, 2015, https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/03/politics/donald-trump-2016-rnc-pledge-meeting/index.html.

  9. Jonathan Easley, “Trump signs GOP loyalty pledge,” The Hill, September 3, 2015, http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/252685-trump-signs-gop-loyalty-pledge.

  10. Donald Trump, interview by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC, March 3, 2016, https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-interview-morning-joe-march-3-2016.

  11. Dana Milbank, “President Trump has finally released his comic book,” Washington Post, February 12, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/president-trump-has-finally-released-his-comic-book/2018/02/12/18cfb848-1045-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html?utm_term=.926b56226d1f.

  12. Colin Campbell, “The Republican Party suddenly canceled its NBC debate amid CNBC furor,” Business Insider, October 30, 2015, http://www.businessinsider.com/rnc-cancels-nbc-debate-reince-priebus-cnbc.

  Chapter Five: The Never-Trump Convention That Never Was

  1. Ryan Teague Beckwith, “Read Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s Remarks at a Military Forum,” Time, last updated September 7, 2016, http://time.com/4483355/commander-chief-forum-clinton-trump-intrepid/.