Obama gives press secretary high marks at his last daily briefing
WASHINGTON — President Obama gave a warm send-off to his most visible stand-in Tuesday, praising Josh Earnest for his integrity and preparedness during a surprise appearance during Earnest's 354th final daily briefing as press secretary.
"Number one, he's got that all-American matinee good-looking thing going on," Obama said. "Then the guy's name Is Josh Earnest, which if somebody is speaking on your behalf, is a pretty good name to have."
"He was tough and he didn’t always give you guys everything you wanted, but he was always prepared, always courteous," he said. "He's never disappointed. He's always been the guy you wanted him to be."
Earnest said Obama rarely watched Earnest's briefings, probably because it's hard to watch someone else speak for you. Despite that, Earnest said, Obama "never second guessed me. Not once."
Obama will conduct his last press conference on Wednesday, meaning Earnest's last turn at the podium was Tuesday. In a lighthearted opening to the daily ritual, Earnest offered some highlights and lowlights of his nearly three years behind the podium, including unapologetic rooting for the Kansas City Royals and insidery references to the House GOP's "Tortilla Coast gambit."
► "President-elect Trump, of course, took advantage of the opportunity to light me up as a 'foolish guy' who makes even the good news sound bad, And I have to admit, that even that one made me laugh."
► "Jon Stewart lit me up as I struggled to explain to Jon Karl why a couple of our political ambassadors for some reason had no idea what they were doing," he said. "At least the Stewart segment made some of my friends laugh."
► He recapped the tussles he had with various members of Congress over homeland security funding, the Iran nuclear deal, sovereign immunity for Saudi Arabia, Obamacare and trade — all of which involved Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.. "And to think, we actually spent most of the last two-and-a-half years complaining about how unreasonable Republicans in Congress are," he said.
With the incoming Trump White House contemplating changes to the press secretary's daily briefing, Earnest encouraged the new administration to be as open as possible in its dealings with the press.
"The daily briefing, of course, is the most high-profile part of the press secretary's job, but it's not the only part that matters. The more important part, in many ways, is working with all of you and ensuring that the freedom of the press — and ensuring the freedom of the press that keeps this democracy vital," he said.
"It’s made President Obama a better president, and a better public servant," he said. "Even though it’s my last briefing, you better not let up now."
Earnest said he's looking forward to watching the briefing from the outside.. "It will take some getting used to watching somebody else do it. Or not (do it)."
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