Steve Bannon says Sean Spicer avoiding TV because he ‘got fatter’

The New York Post reports that Bannon responded to a question from the Atlantic on why the White House has been downgrading the briefings to gaggles and then to off-camera events.

“Sean got fatter,” he wrote in a text message.

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Bannon didn’t respond to follow-up questions, the Atlantic reported.

Chelsea Clinton called out Mr Bannon on Twitter for ‘fat shaming’ Spicer.

The White House using fat shaming to justify increased opacity. 2017. https://t.co/pWqupoAOXu

— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) June 20, 2017

The issue over the tightly controlled briefings came to a head yesterday when the White House said Spicer’s off-camera gaggle would not be available for broadcast or audio.

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“I’ve said it since the beginning — the president spoke today, he was on camera,” Spicer explained. “He’ll make another comment today at the technology summit. And there are days that I’ll decide that the president’s voice should be the one that speaks, and iterate his priorities.”

The White House Correspondents Association has criticised the lack of media availability and has said it would “object” to any move by the Trump administration to cancel the briefings.

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer

Reports say Spicer is being moved away from his role as press secretary and the White House is looking for a replacement, with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham and London’s Daily Mail’s US political editor David Martosko in the running.

Last month, Trump suggested ending the briefings that have been a routine part of past administrations.

“Well, just don’t have them,” Mr Trump said on Fox News. “Unless I have them every two weeks and I do them myself, we don’t have them. I think it’s a good idea.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and is republished here with permission.