interview

Salon talks to the Bush-era press secretary about the duties of that role and the current 300-day briefing blackout

Published January 12, 2020 11:00AM (EST)

Press secretary Ari Fleischer, "American Experience: George W. Bush" panel for PBS at TCA press tour (PBS)

In so-called normal times and under business-as-usual administrations the job of White House Press Secretary doesn’t lead to renown or infamy. Those terms — normal, business as usual — don’t apply to Donald Trump’s tenure in the Oval Office, and his press secretaries have become household names mostly for the wrong reasons.

Sean Spicer’s claim to fame is being a terrible liar and an even worse dancer. Sarah Huckabee Sanders distinguished herself by reducing the once-frequent White House press corps briefings to very occasional insult exchanges peppered by lies.…