Kayleigh McEnany , the newWhite House press secretary, in her first official briefing on Friday vowed to "never lie" as she serves as the Trump administration's spokesperson.- "I will never lie to you, you have my word on that," McEnany said.
- McEnany is Trump's fourth press secretary, and Friday's press conference marked the first formal White House briefing in over a year.
- Her predecessors had extremely contentious relationships with the media, and were often called out for spreading false information and misleading the public.
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Kayleigh McEnany held her first White House press conference on Friday, declaring that she will "never lie" to reporters while serving as the Trump administration's spokesperson.
"I will never lie to you, you have my word on that," McEnany said.
Prior to taking over as White House press secretary last month, McEnany served as the national press secretary for President
"We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism, and isn't that refreshing when contrasting it with the awful presidency of Barack Obama?" McEnany said in a Fox Business interview on February 25. The US is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with well over one million confirmed cases and a higher death toll than US losses in the Vietnam War — over 63,000 as of Friday afternoon.
Friday marked the first formal press briefing for reporters in over a year. McEnany's predecessor, Stephanie Grisham, did not stand behind the podium a single time during her tenure.
Former Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who often sparred with reporters during press briefings, broke from years of tradition and stopped holding briefings last year not long before she stepped down and Grisham took over. The last formal White House briefing before Friday's was on March 11, 2019.
Trump has had four press secretaries since entering the White House. All of them have had contentious relationships with the media.
Sean Spicer, the Trump administration's first press secretary, set the tone in that regard by quarreling with reporters over the size of the crowd at Trump's inauguration during his initial White House press briefing.
McEnany's pledge to "never lie" to reporters was significant, given her predecessors were frequently called out for spreading false information. Sanders, for example, admitted to special counsel Robert Mueller's office that she made unfounded remarks to the press about former FBI Director James Comey after he was fired. She dismissed it as a "slip of the tongue."
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 1, 2020
Friday's press briefing came as the Trump administration continues to face widespread criticism over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. McEnany defended the government's approach to the crisis, while echoing the president's criticism of the World Health Organization (WHO), accusing it of being biased toward China. Global health experts have disputed that characterization, stating that the WHO is generally deferential to all of its members.
The new White House press secretary also fielded questions on everything from former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to the sexual assault allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden as well as the accusations the president has faced from multiple women.
Though there had not been a formal White House briefing in over a year, the administration's coronavirus task force has held dozens of press conferences on the pandemic. The coronavirus briefings often went off the rails, with Trump attacking reporters and spreading false information.
Trump in late April made the controversial and potentially dangerous suggestion that injecting disinfectants could serve as a cure for coronavirus, prompting doctors, public health experts, and companies that make such products to warn against doing so. In the wake of those remarks, which sparked a wave of criticism, the coronavirus task force has not held daily press briefings.
McEnany on Friday concluded her first official briefing by encouraging people to watch a Fox