Trump's White House Says it Reserves Right to Disagree with Facts

Newly installed White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that he and his team reserve the right to "disagree with the facts" on some occasions and asked for the same chance that the press has to issue a "correction" when he makes a mistake.

At his first daily press briefing, Spicer responded to reporters' questions for more than 90 minutes, answering one about the nature of his job as press secretary by saying that he feels that it is to tell the truth from the White House press room podium.

"It's an honor to do this. I believe we have to be honest ... I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts. Our intention is never to lie to you," Spicer said.

Reporters are "in the same boat," he said, adding "I mean, there are times when you guys tweet something out or write a story and you publish a correction. That doesn't mean that you were intentionally trying to deceive readers and the American people, does it? And I think that we should be afforded the same opportunity."

Spicer has found himself in the midst of controversy since Saturday, when in his first appearance before reporters in the press room - and without taking questions - he chastised the media for allegedly "minimizing" the number of people attending President Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday.

At Monday's press briefing, Spicer did not back away from that claim and neither did presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway, who on Sunday said that he had offered reporters "alternative facts," a statement that sparked astonishment and immediate indignation among the media and on the social networks.

Adopting a much more cordial tone with the press than he displayed on Saturday, Spicer - however - reaffirmed that Trump's inauguration was the most-viewed in history and called for figures to dispute that allegation.

When asked if he wanted to amend his statement from Saturday, the press secretary sidestepped the question, saying that the figures he used in coming to that conclusion - Washington Metro ridership numbers - were produced by an outside group and not the Metro management, but he said he did not make them up.