Newsmax rescinds Spicer’s White House Correspondents’ Association application: report

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s attempt to join the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) was unsuccessful after Newsmax withdrew his application.

“Newsmax already had two correspondents that work with the White House press corps,” a Newsmax spokesperson said in a statement to Politico, noting that Emerald Robinson and John Gizzi serve as the organization’s primary White House correspondents.

“Given the current limited seating for daily briefings, we are pleased with our current representation, and at this time, don’t see a need for additional personnel assigned there,” the spokesperson added.

Newsmax’s decision to rescind the application spared the WHCA the potentially controversial decision of whether to grant membership to a former press secretary.

Spicer’s tenure at the podium in 2017 was marked by confrontations with reporters and falsehoods, most notably when he declared then-President Trump enjoyed the largest Inauguration Day crowd in history.

A Newsmax spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

Spicer hosts a nightly program on the conservative network, and he has appeared at White House briefings in the past.

Newsmax has seen its footprint increase in recent months after Trump repeatedly promoted it over Fox News. But the network ran into some trouble when it echoed the former president’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. The network eventually issued a clarification in the face of threats of lawsuits.