Chris Wallace is so nervous he went on the attack, with a menacing statement warning Kayleigh McEnany she’s in for a scuffle if she ever tries to cross his path. Along with the rest of the left-leaning media, Wallace is having a total meltdown over the new White House press secretary. The talking heads are pining for the days when they could kick Stephanie Gresham around for the press briefings she didn’t have.
Kayleigh McEnany scares reporters with the facts
“If Kayleigh McEnany had told Sam Donaldson and me what questions we should ask, that would not have gone well,” Christopher Wallace threatened on Fox News Sunday. The liberal microphone jockeys are acting like she peed in the White House press pool. The shocking way she stands up for President Donald Trump and his administration is “indefensible and grotesque,” Jonah Goldberg replied to his progressive cohort.
When McEnany gets behind the podium, she doesn’t stand there like a deer in headlights while talking heads have their verbal way with her. As The New York Post explains, she “steamrolls, she dodges, she lectures reporters on the questions they should be asking.” Reporters don’t like it when their victim doesn’t play along.
The media feels threatened when the administration stands up and fights back. They’re used to browbeating “polite” media relations officials. Until the new sheriff rode into town, their standard procedure was a harsh barrage of loaded questions. Each one seems to follow a standard formula. “As you know, things are terrible, and it’s your fault, care to comment?” “Yes, I would,” McEnany replies. Then proceeds to rip the reporter to shreds.
It’s not about the First Amendment
Yes, it’s true that the media has the First Amendment right to say anything they want to say. It can be as inflammatory and misleading as they like. It doesn’t even need to be true. However, there’s not a single word in the Constitution that says a White House press secretary needs to be polite.
The way she handled the briefing about going back to church was a prime example. President Donald Trump officially declared houses of worship as “essential services.” Reporters characterized it as the kiss of death so McEnany called them out about it, observing, they “wanted to see churches remain closed.”
Ben Tracy from CBS grilled, “If a governor does not allow that, does the White House support churches that defy these executive orders?” She shot back, “The president has been very clear. He wants to see churches reopen in accordance with these guidelines.” That wasn’t good enough for CBS. “The answer is yes?” Tracy taunted. She wasn’t about to fall into that trap. “I gave you an answer, and the president would like to do it in accordance with the CDC guidelines.”
Boy, is it interesting
“The president will strongly encourage every governor to allow their churches to reopen, and boy, it is interesting to be in a room that desperately wants to seem to see these churches and houses of worship stay closed.” That made Jeff Mason from Reuters turn purple.
“I object to that,” he fumed. “I go to church. I’m dying to go back to church. The question we are asking you and would have liked to have asked the president and Dr. [Deborah] Birx is, is it safe? If it is not safe, is the president trying to encourage that, or does the president agree with Dr. Birx that people should wait.” The outburst didn’t phase Kayleigh McEnany. She didn’t even blink.
“Jeff, it is safe to reopen your churches and you do so in accordance with the guidelines which are laid out in very stringent detail here” thumbing through a whole stack of guidelines for emphasis. “The same amendment that gives you all the ability to ask me questions is there to have the freedom of worship, so imams and pastors can go to their churches, go to their places of worship, and can celebrate what is a First Amendment right in this country, which is to pray to your God and to practice your faith.”