White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Donald Trump “defends the actions and steps he has taken,” when asked if he had made mistakes.
CNN White House chief correspondent Jim Acosta asked: “Hasn’t the president made mistakes? At one point, he suggested that Americans inject disinfectants, that sort of thing. “
The question was asked after an initial consultation on whether the White House was reporting against Dr. Anthony Fauci by leaking “opposition research” to journalists and that he had made mistakes during the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Download the new Independent Premium app
Share the full story, not just the headlines
Mr. Acosta continued: “Why not send these notes to journalists about what Dr. Fauci said in the past, with their names on it? They were sent by a White House official. The president has said he does not trust anonymous sources, and yet was sending these notes to journalists, anonymously. “
Responding to the point, Ms. McEnany said, “Look, I would like to point out that, in terms of the President and his record on coronavirus, he defends the actions and steps that he has taken in this historic response.”
She added: “You have Dr. Fauci who said, ‘This president’s record is impressive. I can’t imagine that under any circumstances someone could be doing more. ‘ And those are Dr. Fauci’s words.
Ms. McEnany had previously denied the existence of opposition investigations to journalists, and that the information referred to by Mr. Acosta was provided to The Washington Post in response to a direct question.
Acosta and the press secretary have clashed in the past, especially in June, over a series of tweets manipulated by the president.
.
