Sean Spicer is being trolled on Instagram for posting decadent photos of a giant bottle of champagne – while protesters nearby played distressing recordings of young immigrant children crying for their parents.
The former White House press secretary was attending a fundraiser, by pro-Trump America First PAC, at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.
Spicer posted photos of himself mingling with celebrities at the glamorous event – which cost at least $100,000 a ticket – before sharing a photo of two staff members holding a huge bottle of Veuve Clicquot worth hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
‘If you are having champagne @trumphotels make sure you have enough for everyone,’ he captioned the photo on Instagram.
Sean Spicer is being trolled on Instagram for posting decadent photos of himself with a giant bottle of champagne and the caption: ‘If you are having champagne @trumphotels make sure you have enough for everyone’
The post has been slammed by critics as ‘out of touch’ and ‘tone deaf’
But the post has been slammed by critics as ‘out of touch’, ‘tone deaf’ and even led to comparisons of Spicer to Marie Antoinette who famously announced to the starving French poor who ran out of bread, ‘let them eat cake!’
Because as Spicer schmoozed with wealthy Republicans and sporting stars inside the luxury venue, outside protesters had gathered to demonstrate against the administration’s zero tolerance policy on immigration – criminally prosecuting migrants who cross the US-Mexico border and separating them from their children.
The policy has seen more than 2,000 children ripped from their parents since it was introduced in April.
American Bridge, a liberal super PAC, played audio, first obtained by ProPublica, of migrant children being ripped apart from their families.
Spicer posted photos of himself mingling with celebrities at the glamorous event (pictured with former boxer Evander Holyfield)
The distressing recording captures children, who can be as young as 18 months when taken from their parents, crying and calling out for their ‘mama’ and ‘pappa’.
‘Tonight, we make sure that @realDonaldTrump and his rich cronies hear the impact of his cruel, heartless policies,’ the group tweeted before the event. They later posted video of guests walking past the speakers as they entered the fundraiser.
The stark contrast between the protesters fighting for poor migrant families, and Spicer’s luxury bottle of champagne, enraged many on Instragram who accused Spicer of being ‘either the most tone deaf individual in the world or the most heartless.’
American Bridge, a liberal super PAC, played audio, first obtained by ProPublica, of migrant children being ripped apart from their families
‘Did you walk past the speaker blaring the sounds of the children in cages crying for their parents on your way in? What a horrifying, hateful person you are. The shame of this will haunt you all for the rest of your lives,’ one Instagram user wrote.
‘A classy juxtaposition to babies crying because they were torn from the arms of their mothers. This administration has no decency,’ Gene Keenan added.
‘CHILDREN are in TRUMP CONCENTRATION CAMPS. but cheers, you heartless excuse for a human,’ another commenter wrote.
Jake Walker demanded to know: ‘Are you celebrating the opening of Trump’s fourth baby prison? Monsters.’ ‘Wow. Uncaring. Tone deaf. I thought Catholics cared about social justice??’ Jane Gibbs added.
‘ARE YOU SERIOUS??!!?!??? asked another, ‘Spicer, You put Marie Antoinette to shame.’
Spicer has since responded to the criticism, tweeting that he was actually taking a photo of a bottle of champagne that another table had ordered. He did not address his glib caption
Spicer has since responded to the criticism, tweeting that he was actually taking a photo of a bottle of champagne that another table had ordered. He did not address his glib caption.
Trump was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the America First Action fundraiser where donors paid $100,000 for general admission tickets and $250,000 for VIP tickets.
Other guests included Donald Trump Jr., Sens. Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Spicer, who stepped down from his role as press secretary after multiple missteps last July, is not the only politician to face heat over Trump’s immigration policy.
Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was also heckled by protesters after she dined at a Mexican restaurant in DC on Tuesday.
The zero tolerance policy has seen more than 2,000 children ripped from their parents since it was introduced in April (A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018 in McAllen, Texas)