WH Spox Downplays Historic Women's Marches: It Wasn't 'Against Anything'

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo


By ESME CRIBB Published JANUARY 23, 2017, 2:54 PM EDT

White House press secretary Sean Spicer downplayed on Monday the massive women's rights marches that took place Saturday in Washington, D.C. and across the United States, saying that protestors were actually "not against anything," let alone Donald Trump.

"What is the President's message to the millions of people here in Washington and around the country who were protesting on Saturday?" a reporter asked at Spicer's first formal briefing.

"I think he has a healthy respect for the First Amendment and this is what makes our country so beautiful, is that on one day you can inaugurate a President, on the next day people can occupy the same space to protest something," Spicer said. "But he's also cognizant to the fact that a lot of these people were there to protest an issue of concern to them and not against anything."

Thousands of marchers attended protests on Saturday along the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as well as in hundreds of other cities across the United States and around the world. The ubiquitous symbol of the women's marches, the "pussyhat," directly referenced the infamous "grab 'em by the pussy" remark the President made on the hot mic "Access Hollywood" tape. Many marchers also carried anti-Trump signs.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sean-spicer-womens-not-against-anything

[Eleanors38]

1. "Not against anything" is a Fox narrative, pushed in Austin after 50k marched.

[Norbert9]

2. Anything Sean Sphincter says

We know the opposite must be true.

And please tell me everyone caught the sphincter thread over the weekend.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Did they ask him when the "Carnage" begins?

Inquiring minds want to know so they can get their affairs in order

[Retrograde]

4. True, kinda - the marches were FOR something

FOR dignity for all peoples, FOR equal treatment for all, FOR standing up to an administration that wants to edit history and take away our voices.

[Cracklin Charlie]

5. These knuckleheads have no business occupying any position of responsibility.

Can't anyone do something to fix this travesty?

Someone call Thomas Jefferson!
Hell, call George Jefferson, even!

SOS

[Kber]

6. This is a brilliant tactic

Belittle and delegitimize 3M people who were motivated to march by saying they have no message and no point. What could possibly go wrong?

[C_U_L8R]

7. It takes a special kind of ignoramus

to not 'get' what the country was marching for on Saturday.
Spicer seems to relish that role.

[JudyM]

8. Internally inconsistent: calling it a protest but "not against anything" in the same breath.

..."a lot of these people were there to protest an issue of concern to them and not against anything."

[Denzil_DC]

9. They can't have read any of the placards! n/t

[Dustlawyer]

10. Let them clearly ddemonstrate to even their own followers how they lie about EVERYTHING!

The press now knows, if they didn't already, that this administration cannot be trusted to tell the truth for even the smallest, issue like crowd size and a massive protest against them. I have heard some say that you have to wait until they are the acting administration (pivot BS) to see how they respond. Well the vote is in!

If they cannot tell the truth on this, how can you believe anything they say on Russia or anything else of serious import?

[Solly Mack]

11. I often imagine Trump with a pacifier in his mouth and his staff constantly cooing him.

[TomCADem]

12. Spokesman says Trump believes 'a lot' of marchers weren't protesting him

Alternative facts? More like alternate universe.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/spokesman-says-trump-believes-a-lot-of-marchers-werent-protesting-him/ar-AAm9G2v

One day after President Donald Trump jeered Women's March demonstrators on Twitter — writing, "Why didn't these people vote?" — his top spokesman said Monday that Trump also thinks many of those at the rallies around the world were not protesting him.

Trump is "cognizant to the fact that a lot of these people were there to protest an issue of concern to them and not against anything," White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters, citing the generally positive mood of the marchers who flooded the National Mall.

With that answer, Spicer sought to brush aside that Trump was undeniably the impetus for the marches — the idea for them came about the day after his election — and focus instead on the fact that they grew into a broader demonstration encompassing many issues.

But interviews with organizers and participants showed that Trump's election was the overwhelming reason millions of protesters flooded Washington, D.C., and other cities Saturday.