Presumably under the impression they were standing up for their friends in Antifa, liberal White House reporters Yamiche Alcindor of PBS and Steve Portnoy of CBS News Radio embarrassed themselves at Monday’s briefing with respective questions about whether President Trump wanted to see rioting, and if a focus on the weekend’s Portland violence should be on a supposed video of Trump supporters shooting paintballs.
As usual, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany wasn’t having any of their nonsense, slapping down both by emphasizing the obvious, which was that the focus should be on what’s been three months of “horrific, horrific violence by Antifa and radical anarchist organizations” and that the White House was “not rooting” for violence.
Portnoy came first as, seven questioners in, he kvetched that Trump supporters dared to gather in a caravan of vehicles (mostly trucks) with American flags (and Trump flags) and drive through Portland, and demanded to know what Trump found “patriotic” about “people going into a city which they don't live, presumably to protect property they don't own.”
McEnany merely pointed out that Trump was sharing video of the event, but Portnoy’s questioning quickly turned into a performance at the theatre of the absurd with this doozy: “What about the video them scuffling, shooting paintballs at people, getting in the mix with --- with people. Is that patriotic activity?”
Huh? What? Nevermind there’s been three months of destruction and violence or a murder Saturday night in Portland. Why? Because, ladies and gentlemen, this was important to Portnoy.
McEnany promptly swatted him down:
I don't think the President has seen that video, nor have I. But if you're going to ask about paintballs, it's incredible that for 90 days, I’ve stood at this podium talking about officers who have been --- lasers flashed in their eyes in an attempt to blind them, commercial grade fireworks being thrown at them, a church right out here burning down, people that were harassed and yelled at, Senator Rand Paul, Dan Bongino right out here, and you're going to ask me about a paintball video when, in fact, for 90 days you've seen horrific, horrific violence by Antifa and radical anarchist organizations, you're going to ask me about a paintball video I have yet to see and neither has the President?
Portnoy interjected that sure was what he asked about, wondering if the President found those actions “patriotic” (as opposed to inquiring about those of Antifa).
Representing the dumbfounded Americans watching, McEnany reiterated that while she and the President haven’t seen that video, what has been clear was that “there's been 90 days of violence from left-wing anarchists.”
“It's incredible that today is the one time you're interested in a violence [sic] when it's paintballs and we don't even know who set off these paintballs, but you failed to ask for 90 days about violence from an anarchist organization because it happens to be on the left,” she added.
As for Alcindor, she continued to make poor use of our taxpayer dollars by bolstering her reputation as the female Jim Acosta.
On Monday, she used a quote from Kellyanne Conway on Fox & Friends to suggest Trump “is…rooting for more violence” to win reelection. In other words, Alcindor took talking points from both the Biden campaign and the left writ large and accepted it as fact.
Kellyanne Conway said the more chaos and anarchy and violence reign, the better it is for the very clear choice of who’s best on public safety and law and order. Does this President --- is he rooting for more violence for the political benefit? That’s what Kellyanne Conway’s quote is suggesting. Democrats say that the President thinks violence works in political favor.
McEnany replied that the President was “absolutely not…rooting for more violence in the slightest” and, in his first two years in office, crime nationwide fell (though violence in cities have on the rise with many have attributing it to the media-assisted hate movement against police, riots, and stress from the pandemic).
She brought up the success of Operation Legend, but Alcindor wasn’t moved. And as usual for a member of the press corps, Alcindor found herself in a losing battle against McEnany and her binder of facts (click “expand”):
MCENANY: We’re encouraged that Operation Legend is working. In Kansas City, violence has been cut by a third. In Indianapolis, we've gotten 49 guns off the streets in two weeks that were related to gun violence.
ALCINDOR: Do you think the violence helps make his case for his reelection?
MCENANY: No one wants to see the violence that we’ve seen in our cities where, after two years of coming down under President Trump, in Portland, you have a 650 percent increase in murders. In Seattle, you --- you had the first eight months total of murders almost surpassing the entire amount in 2019 and this is because the defund the police movement. This is because of the criticism of our police officers and the drawing down of funds for these officers. No one wants to see this, which is why the President is fighting against that movement and it’s why he's fighting for a robust Operation Legend response that’s proved successful so far.
ALCINDOR: Can I follow up on that?
MCENANY: Mmhm.
ALCINDOR: Why hasn't the President just said Americans shouldn't be taking their own weapons to try to protect buildings and condemning the idea of people kind of deputizing themselves? Or maybe does the white house believe that citizens should stop showing up to cities, especially the ones they don’t live in, to have guns to protect buildings?
MCENANY: This White House believes our police should be fully funded. We should have more police rather than less. We shouldn’t criticize our police because it is our police officers ---
[INAUDIBLE ALCINDOR]
MCENANY: --- who are responsible for taking to the streets and protecting us. And when they’re called cancers by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, when they’re compared to the KKK by a current sitting vice presidential candidate, it's appalling, it's despicable, we need to protect our police officers because they should be the ones out there patrolling the streets.
With this having been a press briefing, there were no commercials to discuss as having sponsored their left-wing propaganda. However, you can still go here to check out the MRC's Conservatives Fight Back page to see many of the advertisers that support the work of ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and NBC.
To see the relevant briefing transcript from August 31, click “expand.”
White House Press Briefing
August 31, 2020
1:11 p.m. EasternSTEVEN PORTNOY: I want to ask you about one of the President’s other tweets this weekend. He took a video or --- or retweeted a video of a caravan of people driving into Portland with trump and American flags on it. What about that image does the president see as patriotic? And ostensibly, you’re talking about people going into a city which they don't live, presumably to protect property they don't own. What’s patriotic about that activity?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY; The President was highlighting that these are good Americans going to peacefully be part of a protest and show their voice, and, you know, that's what he was noting by the tweet and highlighting the video which he routinely does.
PORTNOY: What about the video them scuffling, shooting paintballs at people, getting in the mix with --- with people. Is that patriotic activity?
MCENANY: I don't think the President has seen that video, nor have I. But if you're going to ask about paintballs, it's incredible that for 90 days, I’ve stood at this podium talking about officers who have been --- lasers flashed in their eyes in an attempt to blind them, commercial grade fireworks being thrown at them, a church right out here burning down, people that were harassed and yelled at, Senator Rand Paul, Dan Bongino right out here, and you're going to ask me about a paintball video when, in fact, for 90 days you've seen horrific, horrific violence by antifa and radical anarchist organizations, you're going to ask me about a paintball video I have yet to see and neither has the President? Francesca?
PORTNOY: I'm going to ask you about it, but you maintain that the people who went into the city to conduct that activity are --- they’re patriots?
MCENANY: The President’s never seen that video. I even don't know the people you're referring to were part of the paintball activity. Look, there's been 90 days of violence from left-wing anarchists. It's incredible that today is the one time you're interested in a violence [sic] when it's paintballs and we don't even know who set off these paintballs, but you failed to ask for 90 days about violence from an anarchist organization because it happens to be on the left.
(….)
1:17 p.m. Eastern
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Kellyanne Conway said the more chaos and anarchy and violence reign, the better it is for the very clear choice of who’s best on public safety and law and order. Does this President --- is he rooting for more violence for the political benefit? That’s what Kellyanne Conway’s quote is suggesting. Democrats say that the President thinks violence works in political favor.
MCENANY: Absolutely not. He is not rooting for more violence in the slightest. In fact, you know, I would note that, under his administration, we saw crime nationwide decrease in both 2017 and 2018 after rising the two previous years. We’re encouraged that Operation Legend is working. In Kansas City, violence has been cut by a third. In Indianapolis, we've gotten 49 guns off the streets in two weeks that were related to gun violence.
ALCINDOR: Do you think the violence helps make his case for his reelection?
MCENANY: No one wants to see the violence that we’ve seen in our cities where, after two years of coming down under President Trump, in Portland, you have a 650 percent increase in murders. In Seattle, you --- you had the first eight months total of murders almost surpassing the entire amount in 2019 and this is because the defund the police movement. This is because of the criticism of our police officers and the drawing down of funds for these officers. No one wants to see this, which is why the President is fighting against that movement and it’s why he's fighting for a robust Operation Legend response that’s proved successful so far.
ALCINDOR: Can I follow up on that?
MCENANY: Mmhm.
ALCINDOR: Why hasn't the President just said Americans shouldn't be taking their own weapons to try to protect buildings and condemning the idea of people kind of deputizing themselves? Or maybe does the white house believe that citizens should stop showing up to cities, especially the ones they don’t live in, to have guns to protect buildings?
MCENANY: This White House believes our police should be fully funded. We should have more police rather than less. We shouldn’t criticize our police because it is our police officers ---
[INAUDIBLE ALCINDOR]
MCENANY: --- who are responsible for taking to the streets and protecting us. And when they’re called cancers by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, when they’re compared to the KKK by a current sitting vice presidential candidate, it's appalling, it's despicable, we need to protect our police officers because they should be the ones out there patrolling the streets.
