Donald Trump is said to be far from thrilled with the depiction of his press secretary in a satirical TV sketch – but the jibes about Sean Spicer’s conduct at his first press conferences are reportedly not the only thing he is disgruntled about.
Comedian Melissa McCarthy donned a suit, slicked-back hair and aggressive demeanour to impersonate Mr Spicer on the long-running US comedy programme Saturday Night Live.
According to Politico, sources close to Mr Trump said the aspect of Ms McCarthy’s performance that troubled the President most was that the White House communications director was portrayed by a woman.
At Mr Spicer’s first meeting with journalists, he did not take any questions, instead choosing to assail the press for its coverage of the crowds at Mr Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
“This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration – period,” he said, a widely disproved assertion which presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway later defended as “alternative facts”.
In the sketch, Ms McCarthy was shown eating emptying a whole container of chewing gum into her mouth and waving a water pistol at the assembled press.
Mr Spicer told entertainment news programme Extra that while he thought Saturday Night Live was a “funny” show, the saw the sketch as exaggerated and Ms McCarthy “could dial back” a bit.
One of Mr Trump’s top donors told Politico the President “doesn’t like his people to look weak”, suggesting the caricature of Mr Spicer by a female comedian could damage his standing in the White House.
The President, who is often outspoken on social media in reaction to criticism of him or his administration, did not publicly comment on the video.
Saturday Night Live, which first aired in 1975, is famous for its satirical and silly sketches, which often send up politicians and celebrities.
In 2015, Mr Trump himself appeared on the show, despite protests, and danced to Drake’s hit song Hotline Bling in a parody sketch.
