White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, when confronted on Wednesday about remarks she made during the initial days of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, reminded the media that numerous media organizations downplayed the outbreak during the early days of its spread.
Reuters reporter Jeff Mason asked McEnany, “In a previous life, before you were press secretary, you worked for the campaign and you made a comment, I believe on Fox, in which you said President Trump will not allow the coronavirus to come to this country. Given what has happened since then, obviously, would you like to take that back?”
“I guess I would turn the question back on the media and ask similar questions,” McEnany responded. “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 grip, 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 maybe spreading faster of than the virus itself? Does NPR want to take back that the flu was a much bigger threat than 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’ll leave you with those questions and maybe you’ll have some answers in a few days,” McEnany concluded. “Thank you very much.”
WATCH:
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany torches Vox, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and NPR for downplaying the severity of the coronavirus during the early days of the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/3qQgvuXrYE
— Nathan Brand (@NathanBrandWA) May 6, 2020
TRANSCRIPT:
REPORTER: “In a previous life, before you were press secretary, you worked for the campaign and you made a comment, I believe on Fox, in which you said President Trump will not allow the coronavirus to come to this country. Given what has happened since then, obviously, would you like to take that back?”
PRESS SECRETARY: “Well first, let me note, I was asked a question on Fox Business about the president’s travel restrictions. I noted what was the intent behind those travel restrictions, which is we will not see the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism come here, referring to an earlier set of travel restrictions.”
“I guess I would turn the question back on the media and ask similar questions. 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 grip, 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 maybe spreading faster of than the virus itself? Does NPR want to take back that the flu was a much bigger threat than 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’ll leave you with those questions and maybe you’ll have some answers in a few days. Thank you very much.”
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