Claim: Sean Spicer claimed that the press had under-estimated the number of spectators on purpose.

Sean Michael Spicer -LRB- born September 23 , 1971 -RRB- is the current White House Press Secretary and former communications director for President Donald Trump . Spicer was communications director of the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017 , and its chief strategist from 2015 to 2017 .   As press secretary , Spicer has drawn criticism for making numerous false or controversial statements , as well as for displaying combative behavior with the press . The first such instance occurred on the day following Trump 's inauguration . Spicer repeated the claim that crowds at the ceremony were the largest ever at such an event and that the press had deliberately under-estimated the number of spectators . Trump aide Kellyanne Conway defended Spicer 's action by stating that he had presented what she called `` alternative facts '' regarding the inauguration 's attendance numbers . Some commentators have compared Spicer 's role in the Trump administration to the role played for Saddam Hussein by Information Minister Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf , known in the United States as Baghdad Bob .   Spicer originally stated that the Trump inauguration was `` the most watched ever '' , but when that statement was debunked , he said that he had been referring not only to live attendees at the ceremony or those watching on TV , but also viewers who had watched the inauguration online . However , no conclusive figures are available for online viewers , so the claim is unverifiable .