White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Wednesday made the mistake of asking reporters if they wanted President Donald Trump to end his days-long refusal to speak on the record about a number of topics, including the baseless claim that he was illegally wiretapped by President Barack Obama.
"Is it possible that we could see the president for a more general multi-question news conference," Real Clear Politics reporter Alexis Simendinger asked Spicer at Wednesday's briefing. "He's been a little press shy this week, from North Korea to health care selling to CIA leaks. We'd like to talk to him. Can we see him for a news conference?"
"I will ask... Is there anyone else?" Spicer asked sarcastically. "Show of hands?"
Spicer's quip was met with a nearly unanimous response from the press corp.
"I appreciate [that]," Spicer said. "I'd be glad to ask the president, [to] share your request with him and see what we can do on the schedule. But you know that he is very busy these days, he has done a lot of [photo] sprays, and he will continue to interact with you guys. But I would be glad to make your request known."
According to CBS White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, all of the events on the president's Wednesday schedule were closed to the media.
