WASHINGTON — White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer swears he wasn’t sending a distress signal, but it didn’t stop the speculation Friday.
Spicer showed up at his press briefing Friday and went through his opening statement, finishing by announcing he would take questions from the reporters gathered. The first “question” was an observation by several reporters, including Fox News’ John Roberts, that the American-flag pin on Spicer’s lapel was upside-down.
Federal law prohibits the display of the flag with the “union down” except as “a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”
“John Roberts, always helping with the fashion tips,” Spicer said as he fumbled with the pin, unsuccessfully.
After several reporters pointed out that it was still upside-down, Spicer went at the pin with a little more focus, quickly righting it.
Another reporter asked whether it was a reference to the Netflix series “House of Cards.” Spicer replied, “There’s no promo.”
That’s not how the “House of Cards” Twitter account saw it:
Your loyalty has not gone unnoticed. https://t.co/ba1kz1yvXF
— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) March 10, 2017
They were hardly the only ones to notice:
Sean Spicer’s flag pin is on upside down. You’re likely to hear about it on Twitter. — John Stolnis (@FelskeFiles) March 10, 2017
Ya think?
I’m not certain, but I’d wager Sean Spicer’s upside down flag pin was a secret cry for help. @PressSec we can help, you just gotta open up. pic.twitter.com/SBZDfCrsbQ
— Matthew D. Dho (@MattDho) March 10, 2017
Another Twitter wag had a different solution:
i fixed ur flag pin for u sean pic.twitter.com/Y9iCnYNKny — darth™ (@darth) March 10, 2017
While another species was heard from:
Sean Spicer wore his flag pin upside down, an affront to those of us who might bleed to death if we even TRIED to wear a pin. #SeanSpicer
— White House squirrel (@HouseSquirrel) March 10, 2017
