From Iceland — Progressive Party MP With Advice For White House Press Secretary

Progressive Party MP With Advice For White House Press Secretary

Published January 23, 2017

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
David Maiolo/Wikimedia Commons

Shortly after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer slammed members of the press for what he called “deliberately false reporting,” former journalist and Progressive Party MP Karl Garðarsson issued some words of advice for him.

As many are by now aware, Spicer’s first press conference was marked by accusing journalists of false reporting, saying that President Trump’s inauguration was in fact “the largest audience to ever witness the inauguration period both in person and around the globe,” even though this assertion is objectively false. Spicer berated reporters, refusing to take any questions, and soon departed.

Progressive Party MP Karl Garðarsson, himself a former newsman, had some words of advice for Spicer when it comes to dealing with the press.

“Trump’s press secretary attacked the media at his first press conference just moments ago,” Karl posted. “Trump obviously intends to harshly attack the media each time he is displeased with their coverage. Trump confirmed this himself at a meeting with the CIA last evening. This is going to be interesting. Namely, it is generally not smart to make enemies of the media.”

It may seem odd that an MP for a party known for repeatedly criticising and trying to influence their coverage would take this stance. However, Karl has actually spoken up before on how politicians will at times unfairly accuse the media of bias and inaccuracy.

Whether Spicer will take Karl’s advice to heart remains to be seen.

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