Sean Spicer Explains Why He Competed on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ During Tomi Lahren Interview

On the day of the presidential election, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer appeared on No Interruption in a sit-down with Tomi Lahren. Besides talking about his experience with President Donald Trump, Spicer briefly dove into his Dancing With the Stars tenure, even sharing what pushed him to join the ABC show.

Lahren posed a question to Spicer asking if there will ever be a time when Americans can come together. This inquiry prompted Spicer to bring up the dancing competition, explaining that this thought-process played into his decision to enter the competition. “That’s kind of why I did Dancing With the Stars,” Spicer began. “Part of it because I thought, ‘Okay, you can come together for two hours and watch people who are from politically different backgrounds.” The two then broke away from that topic but not before Lahren complimented him on his performance on the show.

Spicer was as controversial of a contestant as the show had ever seen. After he was announced to be joining the competition, then-host Tom Bergeron didn’t hold back in sharing his displeasure about production’s decision to bring on the former White House staffer. Bergeron shared a statement expressing a conversation he had with production about hoping the show, which had been on a rare year-long hiatus, would prove to be an escape from the harsh political landscape, “We can agree to disagree.” He said he understood why they decided to go in a different direction that he advised.

Throughout his time on the show, Spicer dealt with backlash from the viewers and judges alike. Despite the comments that were seen across social media, he ended up lasting pretty long in the competition, lasting eight weeks on the show with his partner Lindsay Arnold. Speaking with US Weekly after his elimination, Spicer was asked about Bergeron’s comments about him, a point that Spicer brushed off and said that he appreciated the “ability to bring a bunch of people together from very diverse backgrounds.” He called Dancing With the Stars a “great example” of that diversity. While he admitted he was aware of the backlash, Spicer said he didn’t let that deter him, calling his time on the show a “great, great experience” and something he made many memories from experiencing.