Spicer: I Regret Embarrassing ‘Myself, My Family, Friends’ As Press Secretary

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday said he regrets doing things during his time as part of President Donald Trump’s administration that “brought embarrassment” to himself, his family, his friends and the White House.

“You made some mistakes,” MSNBC’s Craig Melvin said to Spicer, after playing a tape of Spicer’s “greatest hits,” including his inflation of attendance numbers at Trump’s inauguration, his dismissal of the roles that Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort played in Trump’s campaign and his claim that Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons.

“Yes,” Spicer responded.

“Do you regret taking the job?” Melvin asked.

“No,” Spicer said. “I think in terms of net-net, I enjoyed having a front row seat to history, was an opportunity of a lifetime. Did I make mistakes? Thank you for taking me down memory lane. Absolutely. Do I hope I grow as a person, as a friend, as a stranger to do better? Absolutely.”

“But you’re giving me a diplomatic answer,” Melvin pressed. “Do you regret at all taking the job?”

“No, no, no,” Spicer said. “I regret things that I did that brought embarrassment to myself, my family, friends of mine who have been very big supporters, where I said, hey, that was a self-inflicted wound.”

Spicer said that part of being White House press secretary was “going in and having to tell the President of the United States, ‘Hey, I embarrassed myself, your administration, and in some cases I think, you know, did something the American people are probably not pleased with.'”

“It’s not just a mistake,” he said, and later added of his successor White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, “It’s much better being a viewer than a briefer.”