Bill Murray Holds White House Press Briefing

Bill Murray stepped in for White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Friday, holding his own short briefing in the White House press room, the Chicago Tribune reports. Murray, as one would expect, used his time to discuss the Chicago Cubs with the handful of assembled reporters, one of whom addressed him as "Mr. President." NBC News has a full video of the Murray press briefing, in which the actor says he's confident the Cubs will make their first World Series since 1945 because "they have too many sticks" and because "you get a little autumn in Chicago; you don't get that in Los Angeles; trees just die in Los Angeles."

Murray is in Washington DC to accept the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday. He's currently disappointed he'll likely have to miss the finale of the Cubs' NLCS match-up with the Los Angeles Dodgers in order to be honored, the Hill reports. During his Friday tour of the White House, Murray spoke briefly with President Obama, a noted supporter of Chicago's other team. "He was wearing a Cubs jacket, which for a White Sox fan is a little troubling,” Obama says. Fortunately for the future of Murray-Obama relations, the president is already on record as saying he'll support the Cubs in the World Series. (More Bill Murray stories.)