Spinning Past Sean Spicer

There he was: Sean Spicer, Trump’s first press secretary. The man who took a briefing room that once doubled as a federally sanctioned nap pod and turned it into appointment television. Before Spicer, briefings were something a few thousand people snoozed through. With Spicer, they were something millions watched, often with popcorn.

And now? He was one of us.

Sean Spicer, podcast host, author, civilian. Just another credentialed colleague, another raised hand, another hopeful squint toward the lectern.

He took a standing position at the front of the right-hand aisle, and we chatted while waiting for the briefing to begin. He’s just wrapped a book, Trump 2.0, out next month. His thesis was simple: Absence sharpened the blade.

“Had Trump gone back-to-back,” he told me, “the second term wouldn’t have been nearly as consequential. Time out of office lets you think. Analyze. Decide who you want around you, and what you actually want to get done.”