White House: Intention is 'never to lie' to media

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - It is the intention of the White House “never to lie” to the media, spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday amid controversy last weekend that was prompted by White House claims of "alternative facts".

The Orwellian phrase was a lightning rod after President Donald Trump's senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, defended White House spokesman Sean Spicer after he claimed Trump's swearing in ceremony drew "the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period. Both in person and around the globe".

Spicer delivered his comments Saturday without taking questions.

"You're saying it's a falsehood, and they're giving — Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that," Conway responded when pressed on the comments during an interview with Sunday morning show Meet the Press.

Photographs of Trump's inauguration Friday clearly show wide gaps between groups of spectators seeking to get a glimpse of America's 45th president being sworn into office. Trump falsely claimed Saturday that crowds extended to the Washington Monument. A photo taken from the landmark at the height of the ceremony shows crowds were nowhere near the site.

Conway's remarks prompted dictionary authority Merrian-Webster to write a blog post on what a "fact" is after a flurry of searches for the definition on its website.

During his first time taking questions from reporters, Spicer said his comments Saturday were intended to refer to the "total audience" who viewed Trump's inauguration, including those online.

"I am saying that it was the total largest audience witnessed in person and around the globe," he said.

"If you add up the network streaming numbers, Facebook, YouTube, all of the various live streaming that we have information on so far, I don't think there's any question that it was the largest watched inauguration, ever," he added.