Like on Tuesday, Wednesday brought about a last-minute White House press briefing which allowed Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany to put on full display for the American people the fundamental unseriousness of the far-left, Trump-hating press corps.
Between choosing to instead defend the anti-family, hateful, and Marxist Black Lives Matter organization over the Constitution and accusing the President of racism for disagreeing with BLM, it was an embarrassing day for them.
ABC’s chief White House correspondent and White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) president Jonathan Karl was called on second and fretted: “[W]hy is the President calling Black Lives Matter a symbol of hate?”
McEnany made clear the President has been talking about the organization seeing as how BLM supporters have said things like “pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon” that are “not an acceptable phrase to paint on the streets.”
She continued to note that the President believes black lives do matter (including those of the late David Dorn and Patrick Underwood), but he won’t ever support a hateful group.
Karl wasn’t satisfied and left McEnany to add how a New York BLM leader said “if this country doesn't give us what we want that we will burn down the system and I could be speaking literally.”
He then embarrassed himself:
KARL: [H]e wasn’t talking about the organization. In his tweets, it’s the words. He says the words Black Lives Matter.
MCENANY: Which — what’s the name of the organization again?
KARL: Black Lives Matter.
MCENANY: There you go. You just answered my question.
Later, the Daily Mail’s Francesca Chambers asked about Trump engaging in what “his detractors say are dog whistles” of racism like the term “Kung flu,” “heritage” to describe Confederate statues, and sharing video of a supporter in The Villages saying “white power.”
Like always McEnany had facts to push back:
The President took down that video. That deletion speaks strongly. What I would note the President has repeatedly condemned hate. August of 2019: “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. In April 2019: “We have no tolerance for those who disrupt this peace and we condemn all hate and violence, especially in places of worship.” August 2018: “I condemn all types of racism.” He’s repeatedly done this.
A few minutes after a reporter suggested the President has purposefully talked less about the coronavirus (something that NewsBusters has shown the broadcast networks have actually done), PBS correspondent and MSNBC political analyst Yamiche Alcindor got her turn at the 5:00 p.m. Eastern mark.
“On Monday, the President went after stripping racist themes on buildings. On Tuesday he went after a rule to combat segregation. And then today, he said that he describes the words Black Lives Matter as a symbol of hate. Why is he digging in on race in this way,” she asked, making the insinuation that Trump’s spent the week engaging in racism.
Alcindor refused to budge with her smug, elitist narrative and McEnany wasn’t going to give her an inch (click “expand”):
MCENANY: So, first, I mean, if you’re saying that the fact that he does not want to rename our bases, if you’re considering that racist, then apparently 56 percent of America is as well because 56 percent of America is against —
ALCINDOR: I’m just looking at what he said this week.
MCENANY: — changing the name of U.S. military bases. He believes that our young men and women who left these bases, overseas many of whom lost their lives, and then the last thing they saw was being on one of these military bases, that they should not be told that the base that they trained in is the last place they saw in American soil was a racist institution.
[INAUDIBLE ALCINDOR SHOUTING]
MCENANY: And that’s a proposition the vast majority of America agrees with.
ALCINDOR: [INAUDIBLE SHOUTING] including him saying that Black Lives Matter, as you noted, has been chanted in 50 states. Why are we saying that is a symbol of hate? I’ll talk about the other things that he’s done just this week alone in terms of race.
MCENANY: Well, is pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon racist? I mean, is that — is that hateful? That is a hateful thing to say I would argue. I would think the vast majority of America would agree with that too. I think the vast majority America would think it’s hateful to say that we will burn down the system and I could be speaking literally. I think a vast majority of America would agree with him yet again, pulling up a severed pig's head is unacceptable. He —
ALCINDOR: If you’re not going to engage on that, I have a second question since you’re not answering.
MCENANY: — I did engage on that.
ALCINDOR: The second question I have is —
MCENANY: I engaged on that, Yamiche, and I said we agree, all Black Lives Matter with that sentiment but we will not stand with an organization that exhibits that kind of hate against our police officers.
Alcindor’s emulation of Jim Acosta sure seemed to pay off in the eyes of her peers, but it’s only further sullied the reputation of the press in the eyes of the American people. As the saying goes, play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
To see the relevant transcript from July 1's briefing, click “expand.”
White House Press Briefing
July 1, 2020
4:49 p.m. EasternJONATHAN KARL: Kayleigh, why is the President calling Black Lives Matter a symbol of hate?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY: Well, what the President was noting that that symbol, when you look at the things that have been chanted by Black Lives Matter like pigs in a blanket, fry them like bacon, that’s not an acceptable phrase to paint on the streets. Look, he agrees that all Black Lives Matter including that of Officer David Dorn, Patrick Underwood, two officers whose live were tragically taken amid these riots. All black lives do matter. He agrees with that sentiment but what he doesn’t agree with is an organization that chants pigs in a blanket, fry them like bacon about our police officers, about our valiant heroes who are out on the street protecting us each and everyday.
KARL: But Americans of all races have protested in all 50 states are around that phrase, Black Lives Matter and the President is here calling it a symbol of hate?
MCENANY: He is talking about the organization. I would note to you that —
KARL: But he isn’t saying the organization of hate.
MCENANY: — the Greater New York BLM president has said if this country doesn't give us what we want that we will burn down the system and I could be speaking literally. I called out a very hateful statement.
KARL: But Kayleigh —
MCENANY: Yes, Ben.
KARL: — he wasn’t talking about the organization. In his tweets, it’s the words. He says the words Black Lives Matter.
MCENANY: Which — what’s the name of the organization again?
KARL: Black Lives Matter.
MCENANY: There you go. You just answered my question.
KARL: Those are the words that he’s — [INAUDIBLE]
(....)
4:54 p.m. Eastern
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: The President has come under criticism this week for statements that he has made that his detractors say are dog whistles to a certain segment of his base that he is trying to gin up for reelection. Those include comments like Kung flu, our heritage while talking about Confederate statues and most recently, they include video that I know you discussed in here the other day that the video of a supporter of his using the term white power. So, why hasn't the President called that video and called that a hateful statement.
MCENANY: The President took down that video. That deletion speaks strongly. What I would note the President has repeatedly condemned hate. August of 2019: “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. In April 2019: “We have no tolerance for those who disrupt this peace and we condemn all hate and violence, especially in places of worship.” August 2018: “I condemn all types of racism.” He’s repeatedly done this.
CHAMBERS: But why hasn’t he denounced that specific video and said that that is hateful language that was used in it?
MCENANY: He deleted it. The deletion speaks for itself. His repeated condemnation of hate speak for themselves and this is a President who’s repeatedly condemned hate and repeatedly encouraged us all to come together.
(....)
4:56 p.m. Eastern
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You used the word embers to describe the coronavirus, but yesterday, another all-time record of 47,000 cases and four times this week a new record. Why do you use the word embers when many people would say it's like a wildfire.
MCENANY: So, I used embers because that is what the president has acknowledged would happen around the country. You would see spikes across the country. He said, at times, you would see a fire across the country. Embers, fire, but at the same time, I would note the increase in cases — or the increase in testing, you know, a sixfold increase in testing, you identify more cases. I would also note that Secretary Azar said that we’ve seen that nationwide fatalities at a two-month low. So, whis is a different situation when those testing positive are younger. We have increased tests. We’re aware where there are — where there are surges. That’s why Dr. Birx is on the ground. But we believe we are equipped to handle what we see on the horizon.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has the President made a conscious decision to talk less about the virus? You know, in his town hall with Sean Hannity, someone measured it was only three minutes that he discussed. He tweets about it far less often than he used to.
MCENANY: The President is not focused on talking. He’s focused on action and this administration has taken historic action with regard to the coronavirus. We have an excess amount of PPE, surge that — a huge amount of ventilators in the stockpile. Things that never could be done, we were told, have done under this administration. Testing more than 600,000 a day. This President has done a historic job with regard to the coronavirus.
(....)
5:00 p.m. Eastern
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: On Monday, the president went after stripping racist themes on buildings. On Tuesday he went after a rule to combat segregation. And then today, he said that he describes the words Black Lives Matter as a symbol of hate. Why is he digging in on race in this way.
MCENANY: So, first, I mean, if you’re saying that the fact that he does not want to rename our bases, if you’re considering that racist, then apparently 56 percent of America is as well because 56 percent of America is against —
ALCINDOR: I’m just looking at what he said this week.
MCENANY: — changing the name of U.S. military bases. He believes that our young men and women who left these bases, overseas many of whom lost their lives, and then the last thing they saw was being on one of these military bases, that they should not be told that the base that they trained in is the last place they saw in American soil was a racist institution.
[INAUDIBLE ALCINDOR SHOUTING]
MCENANY: And that’s a proposition the vast majority of America agrees with.
ALCINDOR: [INAUDIBLE SHOUTING] including him saying that Black Lives Matter, as you noted, has been chanted in 50 states. Why are we saying that is a symbol of hate? I’ll talk about the other things that he’s done just this week alone in terms of race.
MCENANY: Well, is pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon racist? I mean, is that — is that hateful? That is a hateful thing to say I would argue. I would think the vast majority of America would agree with that too. I think the vast majority America would think it’s hateful to say that we will burn down the system and I could be speaking literally. I think a vast majority of America would agree with him yet again, pulling up a severed pig's head is unacceptable. He —
ALCINDOR: If you’re not going to engage on that, I have a second question since you’re not answering.
MCENANY: — I did engage on that.
ALCINDOR: The second question I have is —
MCENANY: I engaged on that, Yamiche, and I said we agree, all Black Lives Matter with that sentiment but we will not stand with an organization that exhibits that kind of hate against our police officers.
