In his six-month tenure as press secretary for Donald Trump, Sean Spicer defended the US president’s inauguration crowd size as the largest ever (it wasn’t), accidentally claimed Hitler didn’t use gas on his own people, and memorably hid in the dark among several White House bushes.
He also—however inadvertently—brought us a newfound admiration for the comedic genius of Melissa McCarthy, whose portrayal of the press secretary on Saturday Night Live was both hysterical and outrageously realistic.
Now, Spicer has resigned, and with it we must assume that McCarthy’s time impersonating him on SNL will also come to a close.
Join us for an trip down memory lane as we remember some of the best moments of McCarthy’s all-too-brief reign as “Spicey.”
1. When he came down on the press for not covering the (non-existent) Bowling Green Massacre.
2. “I’m here to swallow gum and I’m here to take names.”
3. When he decided he had answered enough questions for one day.
4. That time he rode around Manhattan on a podium to the tune of Paul Simon’s classic “Only living boy in New York.”
And while we will undoubtedly miss McCarthy’s portrayal, at least we can take comfort in knowing that SNL has Aidy Bryant on deck to play the current spokesperson, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The torch has been passed.