Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer — host of Newsmax TV’s new political talk show "Spicer & Co." — made his debut as the newest member of the Washington press corps Friday.
President Donald Trump called on Spicer during a Q&A at a White House press conference on the coronavirus outbreak.
"You in the back," Trump said, pointing at Spicer, who sat in a seat reserved for Newsmax.
Spicer asked how fast the federal government will be able to provide relief to small businesses forced to shut down as part of a bid to prevent further spread of the virus.
"We’re gonna be helping them a lot,” Trump responded.
"Including my conversation with both Mitch [McConnell] and Chuck [Schumer], a big focus of that conversation was small businesses," said Trump, referring to the Republican Senate majority leader and Democratic Senate minority leader. Small businesses "are really the engine behind our country, more so than the big ones. They are the engine behind our country.”
Spicer followed up by asking about reports that several senators hastily sold their stocks following a briefing on the crisis in January.
"I’m not aware of it. I saw some names. I know all of them. I know everyone mentioned. Dianne Feinstein I guess, and a couple of others,” Trump said.
The president added he believed all of the senators mentioned in the alleged stock debacle were "very honorable people. That’s all I know, and they said they did nothing wrong."
For his debut as a White House reporter, Spicer wore a stylish blue plaid sports jacket and purple tie.
Spicer left his job with the Trump administration in August 2018, and then successfully competed on ABC’s "Dancing with the Stars."
"Spicer & Co.," which is co-hosted by Lyndsay Keith, airs Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
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