President Obama made an appearance Tuesday at White House press secretary Josh Earnest’s final daily briefing, to thank him for his years of service to the administration and for being a press secretary who “never disappointed.”
“There are people you meet who you have a pretty good inkling right off the bat are straight shooters, and were raised to be fundamentally honest and to treat people with respect,” Obama said. He said that can be the wrong impression sometimes, but said that wasn’t the case with Earnest.
“But then there’s others who, the longer you know them, the better you know them, the more time you spend with them, the more you’re tested under tough situations, the more that initial impression is confirmed,” Obama said. “And I have now known this guy for 10 years almost.”
“He’s never disappointed. He has always been the guy you wanted him to be,” he said.
“He was tough, he didn’t always give you guys everything you wanted, but he was always prepared, he was always courteous,” Obama told the White House press corps that had packed the briefing room for Earnest’s last turn at the podium.
President Obama drops in on final press briefing https://t.co/EyUtQ9NR8r pic.twitter.com/YMxZvRFPN7— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) January 17, 2017
During his final daily briefing in the James S. Brady Briefing Room on Tuesday, Earnest reflected on his time as the public face of Obama administration policies in the 354 daily briefings he delivered during his tenure.
Earnest reflected on the day President Obama offered him the press secretary position, when Obama said he would not watch the daily briefings Earnest delivered. Recalling the time President-elect Trump called him a “foolish guy,” Earnest admitted the dust-up made him laugh.
“The daily briefing is, of course, the most high-profile part of the press secretary’s job, but it’s not the only part,” Earnest said.
Obama said he would return to the briefing room Wednesday for his final press conference.
