Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer accused White House correspondent April Ryan of being solely “interested in personal fame,” following a dispute between Ryan and current White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner published Friday, Ryan argued that Sanders was singling her out and threatening physical violence following a back-and-forth about whether Sanders had been “blindsided” by President Trump’s new lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who had said Trump reimbursed another one of his lawyers for payments to the porn actress Stormy Daniels.
“Why is it I’m asking similar types of questions like all the rest of the room but she’s coming at me that way?” said Ryan, a White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks. “Why? What did I do differently than anyone?”
Spicer argued that Ryan and other White House reporters are opportunists when it comes to the White House briefings.
“By her own admission she’s been in the briefing room for 21 years. And it’s not just [Ryan], but there’s a lot of other reporters that because of the attention the briefing gets now have gotten newfound notoriety,” Spicer said in an interview on Fox News on Saturday.
Spicer said reporters are searching for “viral moments” in press briefings and also pointed out that Ryan herself is a contributor at CNN.
“What that tells me is they’re more interested in personal fame,” he said.
Ryan took issue with the comment and defended herself on Twitter.
“Why does @seanspicer harp on my work @CNN so much? Lol I am a reporter who does her job well that is why I am @CNN! What about you @seanspicer?” Ryan tweeted Saturday.
Why does @seanspicer harp on my work @CNN so much? Lol I am a reporter who does her job well that is why I am @CNN! What about you @seanspicer?
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) May 5, 2018
Spicer, who during his time as Trump’s press secretary tangled with Ryan, said reporters attempting to attract attention has altered the White House press briefings, but he did acknowledge some reporters were devoted to “solid journalism.”
“I wouldn’t paint it with a broad brush. There are journalists in there that are really committed to doing a great job and focusing on the facts and solid journalism and storytelling. I think there are several that have realized that they can get newfound fame,” Spicer said.
