Trump cable news warrior takes over as White House press secretary

WASHINGTON: Kayleigh McEnany, who became prominent as a defender of President Donald Trump on CNN and Fox News, took over Wednesday as his new press secretary, entering the high-profile job at a time of turmoil in White House relations with the press. McEnany, 31, made the formal announcement a week after her predecessor Stephanie Grisham stepped down. “Honored to join the @WhiteHouse as President Trump´s @PressSec,” she tweeted. “I look forward to connecting the American People to @realDonaldTrump´s agenda and sharing the historic successes of this Administration.”

A graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Law School, McEnany stood out as a fierce defender of Trump as a paid commentator on CNN, which is often critical of the president. She also made frequent guest appearances on the far more friendly Fox News. She then joined the Republican National Committee communications team and became the Trump 2020 reelection campaign spokeswoman. She enters the White House as Trump is in open war with several major news outlets over critical coverage of his response to the coronavirus pandemic. The crisis and the economic fallout have reshaped Trump´s reelection bid, which was previously based on a once-booming economy that is now deteriorating terribly by the day. McEnany has been criticized over past comments including support for Trump´s conspiracy theory that former president Barack Obama was not born in the United States — a falsehood seen by many as racist. She has also drawn fire over a comment she made on Fox Business in February downplaying the coronavirus threat, saying,

“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?”McEnany faces the immediate question of whether she will actually brief journalists, as press secretaries have traditionally always done, or maintain Grisham´s policy of talking largely to Fox News.