On Monday, as the nation healed from a weekend of riots and anarchy, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended President Trump’s decision not to formally address the country during this time of crisis.
Speaking with “Fox & Friends,” McEnany said that the president is committed to taking action, noting that a formal address will not make the situation better.
“This president has been very clear that we need law and order in this country,” McEnany said, adding that violent protest “demeans the peaceful protesters who have a legitimate grievance when we see angry mob mentality take over and those horrific images of businesses burning and fires in the streets of this country.”
“A national Oval Office address is not going to stop Antifa,” she added. “What’s going to stop is action. And this president is committed to acting on this.”
McEnany noted that President Trump strongly condemned the “mob violence” over the weekend while speaking at the SpaceX launch on Saturday.
During a press conference on Monday, McEnany doubled down on the idea that President Trump has chosen to take action over pushing rhetoric.
“The president has delivered multiple statements on this,” she said. “The president has recently as 48 hours ago, was out talking about what a tragedy the death of George Floyd was, how it has weighed on his heart, on how he encourages peace and lawfulness in our streets and peaceful protests. He has made many statements to this effect. But what I would note is continual statements as he has made day in and day out, they don’t stop anarchy, with stops in or he is action and that is what the president is working on right now.”
According to NBC News, advisers within Trump’s circle have had differing opinions on whether and when he should address the nation, with many feeling it will do little good at this moment in time.
“It doesn’t matter how brilliant an Oval Office address President Trump gives, that isn’t going to make a difference to people financially, and the real issue is the economy,” said Jason Miller, a former campaign communications adviser.
“It’s so easy to say he didn’t strike the perfect chord or left out this detail,” he said. “There are only various levels of failure that could result.”
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said he spoke to the president on Saturday, telling him to change up his rhetoric.
“I told him what I’m going to tell you, which is, Mr. President, it helps us when you focus on the death, the unjustified, in my opinion, the criminal death of George Floyd,” Scott told Fox News. “Those tweets are very helpful, it is helpful when you say what you said yesterday, which is that it’s important for us to recognize the benefits of nonviolent protests.”
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