Sean Spicer resigns: A look back at his spiciest moments

What's Melissa McCarthy to do now that Sean Spicer has quit as White House press secretary? And more important, will Twitter ever be the same?

"Spicey," as he was referred to in McCarthy's "Saturday Night Live" parodies, resigned Friday after objecting to President Donald Trump's selection of New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, according to The New York Times and CBS News. Spicer had been filling that director role, away from the spotlight and battling reporters as he tried to interpret Trump's at-times cryptic messages and tweets. 

He only gave us six months and one day on the job -- the length of time Trump has served as president -- but Spicer's daily press briefings became the stuff of comedic lore. Hashtags such as #SeanSpicerFacts trended on Twitter, where critics and fans alike often opined on his statements. 

Spicer, a former Republican National Committee spokesman and strategist, was tagged for the job by White House chief of staff Reince Priebus. Spicer was roundly mocked for his first briefing the day after Trump's inauguration, during which he combatively claimed the audience that attended the president's swearing in was the largest ever -- "period" -- both in person and around the globe. It wasn't.

Another infamous moment came in May when he defended Trump's seeming spelling error in a tweet that read: "Despite the constant negative press covfefe." While many pundits said the word likely meant "coverage," Spicer defended it, saying, "The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant." (The Urban Dictionary says covfefe "literally means covfefe." Merriam-Webster, which often defines words used by politicians, gave up on covfefe, tweeting: "Wakes up. Checks Twitter. Uh... Lookups for...Regrets checking Twitter...Goes back to bed.")

Spicer's contentious briefings, and the pronouncements for which he was fact-checked on nightly news programs, front pages of national newspapers and social media, became such an issue that Trump himself said he'd considered canceling press briefings all together.

Spicer, of course, wasn't the only Trump spokesperson facing criticism. White House aide Kellyanne Conway, who often appeared on television to defend the president, lit the internet up when she said Spicer was merely using "alternative facts."

Spicer's lowest public moment came in April, when he made an ill-advised reference to concentration camps as "Holocaust centers" and claimed that Nazi leader Adolph Hitler never used chemical weapons against civilians. (He had.) #FireSpicer became a top trending hashtag on Twitter shortly after. He later apologized.

On a lighter note, Spicer's contentious relationship with the press sometimes made for unexpected comedy. When Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May, Spicer appeared to have been caught flat footed. But that wasn't all. 

When the Washington Post wrote a story saying Spicer was hiding in the bushes outside the White House to avoid the president, the administration later asked the newspaper for a correction to note that he was "huddled with his staff among bushes near television sets on the White House grounds, not 'in the bushes.'" (Emphasis added. Because.)

That led to numerous memes, including one mashup of a famous moment from The Simpsons.

While political pundits debated how this move will affect the White House, Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" was quick to create a sendoff for the former press secretary on Twitter:

And this tweet from Daily Beast Writer Matt Wilsten will remember Spicer via McCarthy's memorable impersonations:

And there's Spicer in the rear-view mirror:

Of course, many people chose to focus their sendoffs on Spicer's famous "bushes" moment.

Here's comedian Margaret Cho's take:

And another from the popular Twitter personality, Darth:

And can we consider this "SNL" moment a farewell kiss:

Scaramucci said Friday that White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders is succeeding Spicer as press secretary, who will leave the job in August. Scaramucci said he had great respect for Spicer, according to The New York Times, and said "I hope he goes on to make a tremendous amount of money." Huckabee, reading a statement from Trump, quoted the president as saying, "I wish (Spicer) continued success as he moves on to pursue new opportunities. Just look at his great television ratings."

First published on July 21 at 11:12 a.m. PT.
Update at 1:48 p.m.: Adds comments from Scaramucci and President Trump.

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