Story highlights
- Spicer appeared at the Emmys
- The New York Times asked him if he regretted berating reporters about accurate coverage of side-by-side photos
Washington (CNN)Sean Spicer said "of course" he regrets the time he trashed the press for reporting accurately on President Donald Trump's Inauguration Day crowd, The New York Times reported.
"Of course I do, absolutely," the former White House press secretary told the newspaper Monday.
The day after Trump's inauguration, the President sent Spicer into the briefing room to dispute the true size of the crowd he drew at the inauguration. Side-by-side photos showed a larger gathering for former President Barack Obama, but Spicer declared, "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period."
The Times did not state specifically the wording of the question Spicer was responding to.
Spicer, in a late-night show following his resignation, said that interaction in the briefing room was not "probably the best start."
Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to Trump, said Spicer was using "alternative facts" when he disputed the inauguration coverage.
Spicer's latest comments came a day after he played a prominent role in the Emmy Awards, taking the stage and mocking the first comments he made in the White House briefing room as the President's principal spokesman.
"This will be the largest audience to witness the Emmys, period -- both in person and around the world," he said.
Spicer, who resigned when Trump tapped Anthony Scaramucci for what became a brief stint as communications director, drew controversy on the job for his misleading statements and confrontational approach to the press corps.
Many observers viewed Spicer's inclusion in the ceremony as well as his recent selection for a visiting Harvard fellowship as institutions assisting the former administration official to rehabilitate himself in the public eye.
