Sean Spicer, Trump’s Press Secretary, Reboots His Relationship With the Press

The Trump White House sent a message to the media: Be nice.

At his first formal briefing on Jan 23, Sean Spicer, the new White House press secretary, told reporters that the Administration sometimes does “the right thing,” adding: “And it would be nice, once in a while, for someone just to report it straight up.” It was an oddly plaintive appeal from an Administration that tends to attack the press, not bemoan it. And it was a sharp contrast from Spicer’s appearance 48 hours prior, when he blasted the news media as “shameful,” made false claims about the attendance for Trump’s inaugural and prompted speculation that his relationship with the White House press corps had been irreparably damaged after a single day.