White House press access expanded to rest of country via Skype

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer appeared in the briefing room before media on Monday for the first official press briefing, two days after he caused an uproar for lying to reporters about the crowd size at President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Spicer opened his briefing Monday with a few jokes about the incident on Saturday, but no one laughed. In a series of remarks at the beginning of the briefing, the press secretary said the White House would be opening four “Skype seats” in the briefing room so that journalists who aren’t in or near Washington can attend virtually.

“We are opening up a diverse group of journalists from around the country,” Spicer said. “I think this can benefit us all by giving a platform to voices not necessarily based here in the Beltway.”

Spicer, who on Saturday didn’t take any questions after delivering a statement to reporters, indicated the Trump administration’s combative relationship with the press is not likely to calm any time soon.

Media outlets expressed outrage following Spicer’s press conference Saturday, where he appeared before journalists to admonish them for reporting on the number of people who had showed up for Trump’s inauguration. Spicer objected to aerial photos that were being shared on Twitter that clearly showed the crowds gathered to see former President Barack Obama be sworn in in 2009 were larger than those Trump drew Friday. Spicer claimed Trump’s was “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration,” which is not true.

According to Politifact, the crowd estimate for Trump’s ceremony on Friday was between 250,000 and 600,000. In 2009, 1.8 million people watched Obama take the oath of office on the National Mall.

Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway responded to the outrage Sunday, telling NBC’s Chuck Todd Spicer was giving “alternative facts.” She, like Spicer, also attempted to argue that it was impossible to quantify the exact number of people on the National Mall while continuing to assert it was the largest crowd ever.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 12:07 PM with the headline "White House press access expanded to rest of country via Skype."