As captured in an audio recording of his exchange with reporters, Spicer said he decided whom to admit and added that he had decided to expand the group beyond a small cluster of pool reporters. He did little to allay concerns that CNN and others were targeted.

“We’re going to aggressively push back,” Spicer said. “We’re just not going to sit back and let false narratives, false stories and inaccurate facts get out there.”