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.LEAVITT PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN ON TRUMP'S 'TENSE,' UNFILTERED PRIVATE TALKS WITH PUTIN, XI, STARMER"America's Newsroom" co-anchor Dana Perino sat down with Sean Hannity, where she reflected on her days as former President George W.
Bush's White House press secretary.(Hang Out With Sean Hannity/Screengrab)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.CORNEL WEST AND SEAN HANNITY FIND UNLIKELY COMMON GROUND DESPITE DEEP POLITICAL DIVIDEThen-White House press secretary Dana Perino speaks during the daily briefing at the White House Sept.
26, 2008 in Washington, D.C.(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)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.WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS WIDELY PRAISE KAROLINE L...