Sean Spicer Says Trump's Tweets Are Official Statements

WASHINGTON, DC — Press Secretary Sean Spicer continued to defend the president's use of Twitter Tuesday, despite the problems it has caused for the White House communication shop's attempts to control the message.

Early Tuesday morning, President Trump tweeted criticism of the "mainstream media," saying they're trying to get him to stop using social media. Trump's use of Twitter has recently come under greater scrutiny because of its potential implications in legal cases. It's not clear exactly who, if anyone, in the media has said he should stop tweeting; rather, the press have been arguing that the tweets should be taken seriously, though some White House staff downplay their importance. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Asked whether Trump's use of Twitter ever crosses the line of appropriateness, Spicer said the president is his own most effect communicator. Spicer also said that people who criticize him now criticized his use of Twitter during the election, which turned out well for the president.

Tweeting has "proved to be a very, very effective tool" for the president, Spicer said. Spicer also confirmed that the president's tweets should be viewed as official White House statements.

Trump also took credit on Twitter for the Gulf states' recent isolation of Qatar, ostensibly over its connections to terrorist activities, citing it as a sign of his foreign policy success. “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off,” he tweeted “They said they would take a hard line on funding.” He also suggested that these moves could bring an end to terrorism; however, Saudi Arabia, as well as other states in the region, have also been accused of funneling aid to terrorist activities.

The U.S. also has an important military base in Qatar, and Spicer said that the United States continues to have a "great relationship" with the country. These comments were hard to square with Trump's Twitter remarks.

Multiple outlets have suggested that Trump is increasingly unhappy with Jeff Sessions' performance as the head of the Justice Department. Asked whether Trump still has full faith in the attorney general, Spicer said, "If I have not had a discussion with him, I tend not to comment on it."

Many Senate Republicans have said that they don't think a health care bill will pass this year, despite the White House's confidence. Spicer said that Republicans promised to get health care done for seven years, and Trump is hopeful that it will still get done.

Watch a replay of the press briefing here.

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