McEnany addresses reporters over Trump’s debate statements [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany wrestled with reporters as she answered questions regarding President Donald Trump’s polarizing statements on white supremacy during last Tuesday’s night debate.
• McEnany tried to answer several inquiries but largely dismissed most questions, describing them as “partisan.”
• On Wednesday, Trump said he does not know the Proud Boys and asked them to “stand down,” contrary to his earlier statement.

During the White House press briefing on Thursday, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany disputed with reporters following President Donald Trump’s controversial statements about white supremacists at Tuesday night’s debate.

McEnany argued that the president condemned such groups and dismissed any information that suggests he has a polarizing stand regarding the issue.

While the press secretary answered several questions from the media regarding Trump’s track record on the white supremacy issue, she largely tagged other queries as “partisan” questions.

John Roberts from Fox News asked McEnany for a “definitive and declarative statement” that the president actually condemned white supremacy and militia groups. McEnany cited the remarks made by Trump during the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas in August 2019 but failed to share recent proof.

“Can you right now denounce white supremacy and the groups that espouse it?” Roberts asked.

“I just did,” McEnany responded, then she accused him of trying to make up a story.

Paula Reid of CBS News also tangled with the press secretary on the issue as McEnany cited the federal execution of a white supremacist which was backed by the president.

When both were coming into an argument, McEnany dismissed the talk, saying it was not a “debate.”

“It is quite funny that the media goes haywire about interrupting in debates and then chooses to pursue that very same tactic themselves,” McEnany said, adding that, “this is a White House briefing. You ask a question, and you give me time to answer.”

When it was CNN’s Kaitlan Collins turn, she asked the secretary why the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, celebrated Trump’s statement to “stand back and stand by” if he condemned their actions just as what McEnany was claiming.

McEnany explained that “stand back” means “stand down.” She also shrugged off the question and said it was a “partisan attack.”

The president earned the ire of the public, including GOPs, for not being able to condemn white supremacy groups and militia groups during the first presidential debate on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that he was not aware of the Proud Boys group and that they should “stand down.” When pressed whether he would condemn white supremacists, he said that he has “always denounced any form of that” after disrupting the question and talking about his commitment to law and order.

Thursday’s press briefing was the second day in a row where the White House endured a bombardment of questions pertaining to the president’s contentious statement during last Tuesday’s debate.

Source: The Hill