White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany flipped the script on a reporter during a press briefing on Wednesday about past comments she made about the threat posed by the Wuhan coronavirus.
A reporter asked McEnany about how she told the Fox Business Network on February 25, "This president will always put America first. He will always protect American citizens. 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?"
Many media outlets seized on her words as COVID-19 became a global pandemic and after she was named to be the new White House press secretary. McEnany went on to tweet how her words were being taken out of context.
(2/4): I was asked about travel restrictions & stated the intent of those restrictions: “We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here”
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) April 4, 2020
DR. FAUCI articulated this intent: “What we're doing now with the other travel restrictions - so you block infections from coming in”
(4/4) President Trump works to defeat the invisible enemy while you mislead the nation!
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) April 4, 2020
"I guess I would turn the question back on the media and ask similar questions," McEnany said:
"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 grippe, 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? Does The New York Times want to take back that fear of the virus may be spreading faster than the virus itself? Does the N.P.R. want to take back that the flu was a much threat bigger than that of 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 will leave you with those questions and maybe we'll have answers in a few days," McEnany said as she ended the press conference.
