A controversial former Trump associate with ties to The Villages will be among the celebrities competing in the upcoming 28th season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Sean Spicer, who served as President Trump’s press secretary for the first six months of his presidency and drew a passionate crowd during an August 2018 visit to The Villages, will be among the 12 celebrities competing on the upcoming season of the popular ABC reality dance show.
Spicer was in The Villages in last year for a book-signing event at Barnes & Noble at Lake Sumter Landing. He drew a large and energetic crowd as he signed copies of his work titled “The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President.” The 47-year-old, who also serves in the Navy Reserve, said he wrote the book to “set the record straight” about the 2016 election and his tumultuous time serving in Trump’s administration.
Spicer was quite complimentary about his visit to The Villages, saying the opportunity to meet with so many area residents and pose for photographs with them meant a great deal to him.
“It’s pretty humbling,” he said. “It’s really special to know that someone took time out of their day to come talk to you.”
He said he also appreciated speaking with so many Villagers who were passionate about politics.
“The people that come, they’ve watched the briefings and they want to hear the story,” said Spicer. “It means a lot to me because they were really invested in it while it was happening.”
Spicer, who described his six months in the Trump administration as “chaotic at times, energetic and exciting,” even joked about being parodied by actress Melissa McCarthy on NBC’s hit show “Saturday Night Live.”
“You get a kick out of it and I laughed,” he said with a smile. “But then you realize what’s going on. It was pretty surreal to sit there and watch yourself being parodied on a show that you grew up watching.”
Many in the large crowd at Barnes & Noble said they were thrilled to have the chance to speak with Spicer about his time in the White House.
“Sean got me interested in press conferences and I admire the way he handled himself,” said Gene Molloy, who along with wife Susan lives in the Village of Pine Hills.
“It was pretty cool,” added Susan, an author who writes poetry and short fiction pieces. “I also thanked him for his service. We appreciate that, too.”
For Villager Ruth Baumgardner, a “Fox News junkie,” the opportunity to meet Spicer was one she had been looking forward to for a long time.
“It’s really neat to meet someone in person who has a job like that because they have a lot of information that we can learn from,” said the Village of Pine Ridge resident. “But I think he had to get out to keep his sanity. He’s smiling now. He didn’t smile a lot then.”
For his part, Spicer said he’d remember his stop in The Villages for quite some time.
“I love the engagement,” he said. “It seems to be a place that people want to be because there’s a lot going on – a lot of activity, a lot of engagement and a lot of interest in what’s happening in the country.”
“Dancing with the Stars” returns to ABC on Sept. 16. The other celebrities who will be competing are supermodel Christie Brinkley, Supreme legend Mary Wilson, “Dawson Creek” star James Van Deer Beek, NFL great Ray Lewis, “Queer Eye” star Karamo Brown, “All That” veteran Kel Mitchell, “The Office” actress Kate Flannery, “American Idol” runner-up Lauren Alaina, “Bachelorette” Hannah Brown, Fifth Harmony band member Ally Brooke, and former NBA player Lamar Odom, the ex-husband of reality TV star Khloe Kardashian.
The professional dancers who will partner with the celebrities are Brandon Armstrong, Lindsay Arnold, Alan Bersten, Cheryl Burke, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd and Pasha Paskov.
