Mr. Trump, after all, had conceded only the day before on national television<br />that “in terms of messaging, I would give myself a C or a C-plus.” In the same interview, on “Fox & Friends,” the president described his press secretary, Sean Spicer, as “a fine human being.” The language struck close Trump associates as a dismissive turn from a man who relishes hyperbole.<br />To be sure, anyone serving as press secretary for Mr. Trump has a thankless task,<br />and Mr. Spicer’s turn at the controls of the Trump train has been bumpy enough to deter several Republican strategists from seeking a job in the White House.<br />John Catsimatidis, the Manhattan businessman and a Trump friend of three decades,<br />said he would counsel Mr. Trump to give better directions to the press office.<br />Mr. Trump hired Mr. Spicer at the urging of his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, despite his own lingering questions about the strategist’s<br />loyalty, according to four former campaign officials, who asked for anonymity to speak candidly about private discussions with Mr. Trump.<br />In the meantime a distrustful atmosphere pervades the White House press office, which is a mixture of Trump loyalists<br />and Republican National Committee alumni divided by a “line in the sand,” as one former campaign adviser put it.<br />Corey Lewandowski, Mr. Trump’s former campaign manager who remains close to the administration, said in an interview<br />that Mr. Spicer was “a consummate professional who understands the media.”<br />“He is continuing to represent the president in a way that is authentic and direct to the American people,” Mr. Lewandowski said.
