Former George W. Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer on Sunday said incoming WH Press Secretary Sean Spicer will be a "human piñata" at the hands of the media "because of the media's hostility toward President-elect Donald Trump."
"It's going to be very difficult, and it's going to test his patience, and he's going to need a healthy amount of patience because on the one hand he must represent the president; that's his job. And on the other hand he's going to have to suffer daily being turned into a human piñata by the press corps, because that's what they do. And that's why it's a burn-out job," Fleischer said on "The Rita Cosby Show," which airs on 77WABC Radio.
Trump has battled with the press corps since he announced he would run for president. He still does, most recently calling NBC "dishonest" for butchering its interview with Kellyanne Conway, one of his top aides. "Kellyanne Conway went to @MeetThePress this morning for an interview with @chucktodd. Dishonest media cut out 9 of her 10 minutes. Terrible!" Trump tweeted.
Fleischer also said he had never seen such hostility toward an incoming U.S. President like there has been for Trump, saying he would head into office with "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
"When George Bush won after the recount, there was hostility but it wasn't this pronounced as now. It became even more pronounced as the Bush administration went along to the point where it became that derangement syndrome," Fleischer said, "You know Donald Trump is a fiery fellow. I'm mean he's earned a piece of this. But I've never seen the left go so nuts so early so hard, and I lament this, I regret this. I am a bit surprised by it."
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