New White House press secretary blasted the media during her second press briefing Wednesday when asked if she wanted to retract a prior c...
New White House press secretary blasted the media during her second press briefing Wednesday when asked if she wanted to retract a prior claim that the the nation would not see the coronavirus 'come here.'
Still settling into her new role of defending President Trump from the White House podium, McEnany fielded a question about the provocative statement she made as a spokesman for Trump's campaign.
McEnany claimed, with cloudy foresight, that 'we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism' in a February 25 interview on the Fox Business network.
New White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday defended her February statement that 'we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here'
Asked Wednesday if she wanted to take the statement back, McEnany claimed she was referring to the 'intent' of the president's travel restrictions on China.
'First let me note I was asked a question on "Fox Business" about the president's travel restrictions. I noted what was the intent behind those travel restrictions which is: We will not see the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism come here, referring to an earlier set of travel restrictions.'
Her comment, made in an interview with sidelined Fox host Trish Regan, did not include caveats.
'Looking at the coronavirus, and with the president saying, 'look, we're not going to be taking in people from China right now,' isn't it just a matter of protecting our national security being really at stake, and he's sort of the first line of defense there," Regan asked her.
McEnany was forced to defend comments she made as a Trump campaign spokeswoman about the virus
'This president will always put America first, he will always protect American citizens. We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here,' McEnany said while serving as press secretary to his campaign
Citizens wear masks to defend against new viruses on January 22,2020 in Guangzhou, China.The 2019 new coronavirus, known as "2019-nCoV", was discovered in Wuhan virus pneumonia cases in 2019, and the virus was transmitted from person to person. Currently, confirmed cases have been received in various parts of the world
She also blasted the 'awful presidency of Barack Obama'
'Absolutely, this president will always put America first, he will always protect American citizens," McEnany responded. "We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism, and isn't that refreshing when contrasting it with the awful presidency of Barack Obama?' she continued.
Trump's initial travel ban did not cut off all travel from China. It blocked Chinese nationals from entering the country. According to the New York Times, it still allowed 40,000 Americans to travel to the U.S. from China during a two-month period of air restrictions.
After finessing her prior comment, McEnany went after the press, rattling off a series of major news organizations.
'I guess I would turn the question back on the media and ask similar questions.
'Does VOX want to take back that they proclaimed that the coronavirus would not be a deadly pandemic? Does the Washington Post want to take back that they told Americans to get a grip, the flu is bigger than the coronavirus? Does the Washington Post likewise want to take back that our brains are causing us to exaggerate the threat of the coronavirus?' she asked.
'Does the New York Times want to take back that fear of the virus may be spreading faster than the virus itself? Does NPR want to take back that the flu is a much bigger threat than the coronavirus? And finally once again the Washington Post, would they like to take back that the government should not respond aggressively to the coronavirus? I’ll leave you with those questions so maybe you’ll have some answers in a few days,' she said.
At that point, she ended the briefing and left the podium of the White House briefing room.
Taking a cue from President Trump's attacks on the media, McEnany brought up media misses related to the deadly pandemic that has now taken more than 70,000 American lives.
In the case of Vox, she was referring to an article that the cite tweeted out. It said: 'What is this #coronavirus? It’s part of a family of viruses that attack the respiratory system. Should I travel during the outbreak? The CDC and the State Department advise avoiding China for now. Is this going to be a deadly pandemic? No.”
She appeared to be referencing a February 18 New York Times story that mentioned discrimination against Asian American businesses, school closures and harmed businesses in Europe. 'But fear itself is proving contagious,' it said, going on to quote the head of the World Health Organization as warning: 'The greatest enemy we face is not the virus itself; it’s the stigma that turns us against each other.'
It was not immediately clear which clip McEnany was referring to that the U.S. shoudl not aggressively respond to the pandemic. There was considerable reporting as the outbreak grew about the vast number of deaths caused by seasonal flu compared to the still spreading virus. President Trump has made repeated comparisons between the two viruses.
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