White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany made her debut Friday afternoon, appearing before the press for her first on-camera news conference. This was the first formal press briefing since Sarah Huckabee Sanders—two Press Secretaries ago—answered reporters’ questions on March 11, 2019.
But maybe things will be different this time, with 32-year-old McEnany at the helm. In fact, in response to a reporter asking if McEnany will “pledge never to lie” from the podium, McEnany nodded and said, “I will never lie to you, you have my word on that.”
Wow, off to a great start! Too bad it didn’t even last the duration of the fucking presser. Roughly 15 minutes in, McEnany called the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh “verifiably false.”
“I think it was a grave miscarriage of justice with what happened with Justice Brett Kavanaugh,” McEnany said, responding to a question regarding President Trump’s recent comments claiming the Tara Reade allegations against Joe Biden are more credible than Christine Blasey Ford’s against Kavanaugh. “There’s no need for me to bring up the salacious, awful, and verifiably false allegations that were made against Justice Kavanaugh.”
Uh, okay. Except, a New York Times investigation found both Ford and another Deborah Ramirez—another woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct—credible. Credibility was only dubious for those, like McEnany, who were desperate to get Kavanaugh on the bench.
Plus! She said that Trump denied all the sexual assault allegations made against him four years ago, emphasis on the “four years ago” bit. E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of sexual assault just last year, in 2019. Trump’s alibi: “She’s not my type.”
McEnany also misquoted an FBI document, insisting that it supports Trump’s suspicion that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was “set up.” We’re off to a good start, guys!
Polls show President Trump is losing out to Joe Biden with the old folks vote. So Trump has a plan to woo the seniors of America—his former stronghold. Not with a bunch of cornball shit. Not with better management of covid-19 or less embarrassing press conferences. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump is trying to get the olds back on his good side with… a deeply meaningless holiday.
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Our country could not be anything near what it is without our incredible seniors,” Mr. Trump said Thursday, declaring May 2020 “Older Americans Month.”
“We will show them the same loyalty and love they have shown us,” he said.
Did the name “Older Americans Month” come from the same geniuses who came up with “Be Best” or something?
But the holiday isn’t the only treat in store for America’s seniors.
…the White House is planning a series of public events aimed at appealing to seniors, “a huge focus in the months ahead,” one official said.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump welcomed executives from senior groups and hospice organizations to the East Room of the White House. He announced the administration would send personal protective equipment, such as gowns and gloves, to nursing homes and that he would create a new commission focused on protecting nursing homes from future outbreaks.
Given the fact that going outside and breathing someone else’s air could be enough to land an old person in the hospital, it’s hard to fathom what kind of public events the White House is planning at the moment. And providing better equipment for nursing homes—the outbreak petridishes of the nation—feels too little too late.
Trump’s mismanagement has already killed a ton of seniors and the ones who survive likely have friends and family who’ve died. Gaining their loyalty through bullshit holidays and polka night on the White House lawn probably won’t do the trick.
- Covid-19 pandemic could last two years. Cool. [Bloomberg]
- Alex Jones eats ass?
- A fossil fuel firms tied with Trump are making bank off of the stimulus package. [The Guardian]
- Democrats want Elizabeth Warren for vice president. Surely many would also rather her be the actual president, though. [Vox]
- The Secret Service was charged over $33,000 to protect Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for 137 nights straight at—you guessed it—the Trump International Hotel in D.C. [Washington Post]
- Andrew Cuomo is just vibin’, y’all.