New White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany takes heat for past comments on Obama, coronavirus
Newly appointed White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has come under fire for controversial past comments about President Barack Obama's birthplace and the coronavirus pandemic.
In social media posts and interviews resurfaced on Twitter, McEnany, who previously served as President Donald Trump's campaign spokesperson and a CNN contributor, questioned Obama's birthplace and said Democrats were almost "rooting" for the coronavirus pandemic to spread through America.
McEnany had posted several tweets in 2012 about the racist conspiracy theory spread by "birthers," or those who questioned Obama's birthplace.
Joe Lockhart, former press secretary to President Bill Clinton, retweeted one of McEnany's tweets from 2012 about Obama's brother being in a "hut in Kenya," commenting, I'm sure she'll face a lot of interesting questions if she ever gets to the podium."
I'm sure she'll face a lot of interesting questions if she ever gets to the podium. Have we had an openly racist person like this ever behind that podium? https://t.co/Ze3wpN8KXP
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) April 7, 2020
Former deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes shared the tweet about a "hut in Kenya" and wrote, "this is the racist who is now the press secretary for the President of the United States."
This is the racist who is now the press secretary for the President of the United States. https://t.co/f3ghcBOFo3
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) April 8, 2020
Progressive advocacy group Public Citizen called her a "disgraceful racist."
Trump’s new press secretary is a disgraceful racist, in case you were curious ⬇️ https://t.co/mJcfU9SMIR
— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) April 7, 2020
Former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Sanders praised McEnany's appointment, calling her and Alyssa Farah, who was also named to the White House press team on Wednesday, "smart and capable women who have been loyal fighters for @realDonaldTrump."
.@kayleighmcenany and @Alyssafarah are smart and capable women who have been loyal fighters for @realDonaldTrump. Both are great additions to the WH press & comms team and their promotions are another example of the President empowering strong women to senior roles in his admin.
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) April 7, 2020
McEnany's aggressive defense of Trump's response to the coronavirus also drew criticism.
Speaking in a March 11 radio interview on the "Pat Miller Show," McEnany said Democrats were trying "to politicize" the coronavirus and that Democrats were almost "rooting for this outcome."
"We've seen them how many times root against the stock market doing well. You had the media saying, 'There's an inverted yield curve.' This was a few months ago, therefore a recession," she said. "Oh, RV sales are down, therefore a recession. Oh, coronavirus — we're heading toward a recession. It's almost as if they're rooting for this outcome, which is sick and would obviously economically devastate the lives of the American people."
In a March 25 Fox Business Network interview resurfaced by CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski, McEnany said "we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here" and contrasted it with Obama's presidency.
"We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism come here, and isn’t that refreshing when contrasting it with the awful presidency of President Obama?"
Since then, the death toll from the coronavirus has approached 13,000 in the United States.
McEnany responded to Kaczynski's tweet, calling the clip "ridiculous spin" and said her comments referred to a question about travel restrictions.
Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele shared McEnany's comments on the coronavirus, writing, "isn't that special."
Newly minted White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on the #coronavirus and terrorism....
Isn't that special. https://t.co/BSnOsPKwCt— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) April 7, 2020
Democratic strategist Maria Cardona slammed McEnany's remarks as those of a "conspiracy theory-toting, factless, lie-spewing wonder."
Author Grant Stern wrote on Twitter, "Kayleigh McEnany is coming to the White House with new "alternative facts" about #coronavirus. The rest of the world calls them LIES."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kayleigh McEnany's past comments on Obama, coronavirus