Sean Spicer eliminated from 'Dancing With the Stars'
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer spent nine weeks on "Dancing With the Stars." Credit: Getty Images / Allen Berezovsky
Despite an endorsement from President Donald Trump and a season-long campaign of politically oriented viewer votes, perennially low-scoring former White House press secretary Sean Spicer finally was eliminated Monday from "Dancing With the Stars."
"To everyone who has voted & supported me over the past 9 weeks on @DancingABC thank u from the bottom of my heart," the 48-year-old Spicer wrote on Twitter after he and pro dancer Jenna Johnson landed in the bottom two alongside country singer Lauren Alaina and her pro partner Gleb Savchenko, based on combined judges' scores and viewer votes.
"I made it to the quarterfinals bc of your votes. I had a blast," wrote Spicer, who was born in Manhasset and lived briefly in Port Washington before the family moved to Rhode Island. "Thank u to my family, the AMAZING @lindsayarnold - u are the best, & @JennaJohnson I appreciate u!" Pro ballroom dancer Lindsay Arnold has been Spicer's partner on the show's 28th season, with Johnson filling in over the last two weeks when Arnold left because of a family death.
On Tuesday Arnold tweeted, "You are amazing Sean and I am so proud of you!!! Thank you for being an incredible partner."
After the judges' verdict, Spicer told People magazine of having "mixed" emotions, feeling both "relieved in a way" and "somewhat disappointed." He added, "There's been a tremendous amount of support that's kept me out of the bottom two [couples] the last nine weeks and I've truly been humbled by how many people have taken time out of their Monday nights to keep me going."
Trump, in a since-deleted tweet Monday before the show aired, wrote, "Vote for Sean Spicer on Dancing with the Stars. He is a great and very loyal guy who is working very hard. He is in the quarterfinals — all the way with Sean!" After Spicer's loss, Trump replaced that tweet with one reading, "A great try by @seanspicer. We are all proud of you!"
Spicer, consistently given low scores for dancing, nonetheless had been saved by a campaign urged on by the likes of Trump's 2020 campaign press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, who tweeted Monday, "Team Trump: time to agitate the Hollywood leftist elites yet again!!! Let's get @seanspicer to the semifinals!" The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., had urged voters to disregard dancing ability in a Nov. 4 tweet reading, "The meltdown the Hollywood types keep having when he wins with your votes is soooo worth the time."
