Dana Perino detailed her shocking White House press podium habit during a podcast interview Tuesday, admitting she secretly flipped off combative reporters while maintaining a polite smile during briefings under former President George W. Bush.
“I would just sit there with my hand over my cup and just flip him off the entire time he was talking,” Perino told Sean Hannity on his “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast.
“They’d be asking questions. I’d smile through it … [and] nod,” she recalled.
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Perino, who served as Bush’s press secretary from 2007 to 2009, explained that she kept a cup of water at the podium and used it to shield her hand from view while discreetly delivering the middle finger during testy exchanges.
The gesture, which Perino jokingly likened to a form of “liquid courage,” gave her a small sense of “defiance and confidence” while maintaining her composure.
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The story was kept under wraps for years until she revealed it to Hannity in the past, she recalled. Perino later published the story in her 2015 memoir, “And the Good News Is…” and garnered attention from late conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.
“When I did [Limbaugh’s] radio show, he said, this is the best story ever,” she recalled.
Hannity agreed, calling it “the greatest story ever told” by a White House press secretary and marveling at Perino’s unexpected display of defiance behind the podium.
Perino explained that her role as White House press secretary required her to remain respectful and composed, even when facing combative reporters who, she believed, were more interested in securing television airtime than getting answers.
“They would do anything to get on TV that night,” she recalled. “They would give a big windup and try to hit you so that they could make sure that they could get on air for one of the networks.”
Perino suggested that the pressure on reporters to produce memorable moments was already shaping exchanges during her tenure, but she believes the rise of social media has only intensified that dynamic.
“It’s worse now with social media,” she told Hannity.
The former press secretary and current “America’s Newsroom” co-anchor also recalled a conversation with Mike McCurry, who served under former President Bill Clinton, about whether allowing cameras into the White House briefing room had ultimately done more harm than good.
Fox News fans can watch or listen to Hannity’s full conversation with Dana Perino on iHeartRadio, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever they get their podcasts.
