White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigns after six months

  • USA

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has announced his resignation after just six months - and revealed Donald Trump did not want him to quit.

Mr Spicer said there had been "a bit of a back and forth" with the US president after he told him of his plan to quit.

He confirmed in an interview with Fox News the appointment of Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci as the new White House communications director had prompted him to quit.

Mr Spicer said the White House needed "clear leadership" and said "additional people" had made it "a bit confusing".

  • Video shows Spicer's most memorable moments and Melissa McCarthy's SNL parody

The spokesman will continue in the role until the end of August whereupon his deputy Sarah Huckabee Sanders will replace him.

Mr Spicer told Fox News he "wanted to move on to give Anthony and Sarah that clear lane in each of their respective areas".

He earlier said he had been honoured to serve Mr Trump.

Mr Spicer's daily press briefings during the first six months of the Trump presidency became must-see television until recent weeks when he took on a more behind-the-scenes role.

A statement from President Trump, thanking Mr Spicer for his service, was read out at a White House press briefing on Friday by Ms Huckabee Sanders.

Mr Spicer often found himself answering tough questions from reporters regarding Mr Trump's campaign officials' conversations with Moscow and the president's tweets.

White House press briefings were increasingly marked by tense on-camera exchanges between Mr Spicer and journalists.

The controversial spokesman lambasted journalists over coverage of the crowd size at the president's inauguration and stormed out of the briefing room without answering questions.

Ms Huckabee Sanders had largely taken over the briefings, turning them into an off-camera event.

Mr Spicer tweeted an endorsement of his replacement.

Mr Spicer spent several years leading communications at the Republican National Committee (RNC) before helping Mr Trump's campaign during he presidential election.

White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci also used the White House's daily press briefing to praise Mr Spicer as a "true American patriot".