Trump responds to Sean Spicer quitting: 'Just look at his great television ratings'
Donald Trump has offered his thanks to Sean Spicer - just hours after he announced he was resigning.
“I wish him continued success as he moves on to pursue new opportunities. Just look at his great television ratings," Mr Trump was quoted as saying, by Sara Huckabee Sanders, who was appointed the new press spokeswoman.
Mr Spicer reportedly quit his top level White House position after Anthony Scaramucci was appointed as White House communications director. The former White House press secretary reportedly did not want Mr Scaramucci to take the communications post, a sentiment that is reportedly shared by White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
Mr Spicer's tenure as press secretary was marked by tumult. From his very first press conference onward, his relationship with the press was rocky and somewhat adversarial. While he later seemed to develop less of an adversarial relationship with the press - marked by somewhat frequent jokes, or at least attempts at jokes - it fell short of the close working relationship others in his shoes were able to craft in the past.
That rocky relationship with the press was the inspiration for Saturday Night Live sketches mocking his rough tone, many of which went viral.
During the six months he was press secretary, Mr Spicer also led the way in breaching from the norms of previous administrations of televising daily press briefings. That became a sticking point with several members of the White House press corps, who expressed concern that the White House was attempting to stonewall the press and their access to the information they rely on to try and report on the President.
Reports indicate that Trump allies were hesitant to hire Mr Spicer in the beginning. A former spokesman for the Republican National Committee, he was a close ally with Mr Priebus, who was the chairman of that committee last year and walked a fine line during the campaign between more conventional Republicans who called on him to try and tank Mr Trump's presidency, and Mr Trump himself.
