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What Donald Trump's White House considers 'demoralizing'

For everyone's sake, Trump World is going to have to grow up in a hurry.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer delivers his first statement in the Brady press briefing room at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 21, 2017.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer delivers his first statement in the Brady press briefing room at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 21, 2017. SHAWN THEW / EPA
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer held a bizarre press briefing on Saturday, lambasting journalists for accurately reporting on Donald Trump's presidential inaugural, and declaring without proof, "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration – period."Yesterday, Spicer moved the goal posts a bit, conceding that the new president's in-person audience didn't set a record -- Trump's stated plans to break that record notwithstanding -- but if we count inaugural attendees, add viewers who watched online and on television, and include an international audience, then the total viewership is the most ever.By all appearances, that claim is also wrong.But even putting aside the factual details, it's worth appreciating the fact that this was the fourth straight day Trump and his White House team have talked about his inauguration's crowd size -- in a presidency that's only existed for four days.And with this in mind, a reporter asked during yesterday's White House press briefing why Trump and his aides remain preoccupied with the subject. Spicer's answer was extraordinary, but not in a good way. After rambling a bit about Trump winning states in November he was expected to lose, the press secretary explained:

"We want to have a healthy dialogue, not just with you but the American people because he's fighting for jobs, he's fighting to make this country safer. But when you're constantly getting told that can't be true, we doubt that you can do this, this won't happen, and that's the narrative when you turn on television every single day, it's a little frustrating. [...]"It's not about one tweet. It's not about one picture. It's about a constant theme. It's about sitting here every time and being told, 'No. well, we don't think he can do that, he'll never accomplish that, he can't win that, it won't be the biggest, it's not gonna be that good. The crowds aren't that big, he's not that successful.' The narrative -- and the default narrative is always negative and it's demoralizing."

In all, Spicer used the word "demoralizing" three times in his answer, and the word "frustrating" five times.In other words, roughly 72 hours after Trump's inauguration, the pressure, the criticisms, and the media narratives are taking a toll on those working in the West Wing.Remember, all of this stems from the White House's preoccupation with inaugural crowd sizes. The president and his team could shift their focus to more meaningful topics, but according to Spicer, that's proving difficult -- because punditry and political chatter have had a "demoralizing" effect on Team Trump.Even at face value, this is an alarming perspective. To hear Spicer tell it, Trump was told it was a mistake to campaign in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, which he ended up winning. But instead of celebrating these successes and getting to work, the public skepticism took a toll on the president's psyche, leaving him distracted enough with crowd sizes that he keeps talking about it.The message to Trump's detractors couldn't be clearer: if you want to rattle the president and get under his skin, keep criticizing him.