Asked by Good Morning America if he’d ever lied from the podium, Trump’s former press secretary said ‘I don’t think so’ – but admitted he’d ‘made mistakes’

Sean Spicer, who became notorious as Donald Trump’s mouthpiece, insisted on Thursday that he did not “knowingly” lie to the American people from the White House podium.

The combative Spicer claimed that Trump’s inauguration drew a record crowd, repeated the president’s groundless claim that millions of people voted illegally, and offered an explanation for FBI director James Comey’s dismissal that Trump quickly contradicted.

But asked by ABC News’s Good Morning America if he had ever lied from the podium, Spicer said: “I don’t think so. You wanna find something – I have not knowingly done anything to do that, no.”

Spicer also denied that Trump had ever asked him to lie or manipulate the truth. But the former White House press secretary, who raises some eyebrows after appearing at the Emmy awards on Sunday, admitted: “I made mistakes, there’s no question, I think we all do. Some of them I tried to own very publicly. In some cases there were things that I did that until someone brought it up, I said, ‘Gosh, I didn’t realise that was a mistake, I’m sorry about that’.

“But to watch some of the personal attacks, questioning my integrity, questioning what my intentions were, I think were really over the top.”

Play Video 0:33 Spicer mocks Trump in surprise Emmys cameo - video

Spicer, who quit in July following the arrival of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, has been accused of pushing “alternative facts” and enabling what Trump’s defeated rival Hillary Clinton describes as a “war on truth”.

Pressed on whether he would apologise to the public, he said: “I think there are things I did during my time there that I needed to go out and correct, and I did that. Where there were mistakes that were made, that I got something wrong, I think I’ve owned that.

“I know there are some folks that no matter what we say or do they were never going – and some folks in the media that think everything we did was wrong and want some blanket apology. That’s not happening.”

Interviewer Paula Faris noted photographic evidence that Barack Obama’s inauguration drew a bigger audience. Spicer acknowledged: “I think it might have been better to be a lot more specific with what we were talking about in terms of the universe, not focus so much on photographic evidence, et cetera.

“So yes, from that standpoint, I think I could have probably had more facts at hand and been more articulate in describing the entirety of what that day was about.”

The former press secretary did concede that his statement to reporters that the administration had not imposed a “travel ban” was at odds with Trump’s own tweets. “I definitely wish we had been more consistent in the terms we used and the goals we were trying to achieve. I’ll take a mulligan on that one.”

Sean Spicer at the Emmys: applause won't make his guilt go away | Jessica Valenti Read more

Spicer parodied himself at the Emmys in Hollywood on Sunday, wheeling a podium onto the stage and declaring: “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys. Period. Both in person and around the world.”

Some viewers criticised what they saw as an attempt to “normalise” Spicer and his false claims.

Spicer told ABC News that he has subsequently spoken to Trump about the surprise cameo: “He was very supportive, he thought I did a great job, so it was very reassuring. I feel very good with my image. I’m very happy with myself. I’m able to go out and explain a lot of things now but I’m not on a tour. I’m out having some fun.”

Trump said on Twitter he was “saddened” to see the “worst ever” Emmys ratings – a claim that appears to be incorrect.

Faris asked Spicer whether special counsel Robert Mueller’s team had contacted him regarding the Russia investigation, whether he has hired a lawyer, whether he has been subpoenaed and whether he heard discussion inside the White House of firing Mueller. His demeanour appeared to shift as he answered each time: “I’m not gonna discuss that issue at all.”

The Axios website reported that Spicer kept “notebook after notebook” during meetings at the Republican national committee, the Trump campaign and at the White House, and that these might become a target for Mueller’s investigation into alleged collusion between Trump’s associates and Moscow.

But when Axios reporter Mike Allen approached Spicer for comment, he wrote back tartly: “Mike, please stop texting/emailing me unsolicited any more … From a legal standpoint I want to be clear: do not email or text me again. Should you do again I will report to the appropriate authorities.”