White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany took the path Tuesday night after some social media users claimed to have overheard Al Jazeera journalist Kimberly Halkett allegedly calling her a “liar” in a clip. widely publicized from his press conference earlier in the day. .
In an interview on “Hannity,” McEnany addressed speculation about Halkett’s comment after the journalist publicly denied using the crude comment during a tense exchange at the White House.
REPORTER NEGA MAKING A CRUDE OBSERVATION TO MCENANY IN THE PRESENTATION
“I surveyed my staff and my staff was 50/50,” said McEnany, explaining that his staff was divided on whether Halkett was responsible for the comment.
“But,” McEnany continued, “unlike what the media does to me, this president, anyone in the Trump administration, which is not giving us the benefit of the doubt, but actively taking it out of context, cutting his words in a way that is politically convenient, that distorts the entire message, unlike the dishonest brokers that I have seen in the media, I will not do that to a journalist who showed animosity, who was cruel, who was rude, who was not looking for answers for the American people. “
Halkett was in the midst of questioning McEnany about the integrity of the mail-in ballots when the press secretary seemed to be moving on. Halkett, wearing a cloth mask, said something when McEnany called the next journalist.
The video quickly went viral, and people on both sides of the aisle asked if Halkett used the vulgar phrase.
Halkett later addressed the problem on Twitter, writing: “Thank you for asking @charliespiering… there are many erroneous reports about that briefing. The answer to your question is, I DIDN’T. What I said was, ‘Okay, you don’t want to participate,’ ”she said.
“I will say this,” McEnany replied, “I will give her the benefit of the doubt if she says she did not say that, something she has never given this president, as they actively take him out of context. He is heinous and the American people deserve something. best “.
McEnany also shot Playboy magazine reporter Brian Karem after yelling “Hi Kayleigh, put on a mask!” while leaving the podium at the press conference on Tuesday.
Karem’s comment was just the latest in a long line of media scrutiny surrounding the Trump administration’s focus on masks during the coronavirus pandemic. While the administration has told Americans to wear masks if necessary, McEnany and other White House officials have come under fire for not wearing them at public events.
“On March 31, this president was asked about the masks. On March 31, he said, ‘If you want to use a face to cover yourself, wear one. It doesn’t hurt. Of course, use one,'” McEnany said. “Three days later, the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] They came out with guidelines instead of covering their face and mask, they said it is recommended but not mandatory, “he explained.
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“The president was ahead of the game, but guess who was behind the game? The White House press corps,” he continued. “A month later, when I did my first briefing, this was after the CDC’s recommendation. I looked around the room, no one was wearing masks. So it’s very interesting to see the politically expedient White House press corps saying that the president was against the masks, when that was never the case, he was always open, but it was the White House press corps that ignored the CDC’s recommendation an entire month after it was issued. “
Fox News’ Sam Dorman and Brian Flood contributed to this report.
