White House press corps cries foul after Spicer left out of Pope meeting

Reporters covering the White House voiced disappointment Wednesday on Twitter following reports that President Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer was left out of a meeting with Pope Francis.

Trump attended the meeting with first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump and adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, along with several other members of his White House team, but Spicer — who is Catholic — was absent.

The move was viewed as a slight by some members of the White House press pool, who responded to the news on Twitter by defending Spicer and slamming Trump’s decision to exclude his top spokesman.

This seems needlessly harsh – when else is Spicer likely to meet the Pope, and it mattered to him? https://t.co/jUtcTW8wbg

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) May 24, 2017

Call me a Spicer apologist, but this makes me feel v sad… https://t.co/wCp51Ggb00 pic.twitter.com/SpkxeUPYlx

— Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) May 24, 2017

That planners of this trip couldn’t or wouldn’t get @seanspicer into the Vatican speaks to a small-mindedness I find incredibly depressing.

— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) May 24, 2017

Asked about Spicer not meeting the Pope, a source close to the White House said: “Wow. That’s all he wanted.” https://t.co/38uCp5E3Kt pic.twitter.com/HQzLLOoodf

— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) May 24, 2017

{mosads}

Spicer, who often has a contentious relationship with the press, was nowhere to be seen Thursday in pictures of Trump’s meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. CNN reported that Spicer was “eagerly anticipating the meeting” with the pontiff.

Spicer is vocal about his Catholic faith. Last year, Spicer was attacked on Twitter after the New Hampshire primary after he appeared on television sporting an Ash Wednesday mark on his forehead, a common practice for Catholics.