White House press secretaryKayleigh McEnany boasted that just 8% ofBlack voters supported President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential bid while attacking Sen.Mitt Romney 's record on race.- When asked at a press briefing on Monday, McEnany refused to say whether Trump endorses the statement that "black lives matter" and instead attacked Romney's support for the anti-racism protests.
- The press secretary pointed out that Trump won a slightly larger share of Black voters than Romney did and falsely claimed that Romney won 2% of Black voters, when he actually won 6%.
- She went to attack Romney's controversial 2012 comments that Democratic voters "believe that they are victims" and "believe the government has a responsibility to care for them."
- She falsely claimed that Trump took "great offense to those words," when he publicly defended them in 2012.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany boasted that 8% of Black voters supported President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential bid and made false claims while attacking Sen. Mitt Romney's support for the Black Lives Matter protests on Monday.
When asked at a press briefing on Monday, McEnany refused to say whether Trump endorses the statement that "black lives matter" and instead quickly moved to attack Romney over his decision to march with protesters on Sunday in Washington.
McEnany pointed out that Trump won slightly more support from Black voters than Romney did in his 2012 presidential bid against President Barack Obama. But she falsely claimed that Romney won 2% of Black voters, when he actually won 6%.
"Mitt Romney can say three words outside on Pennsylvania Avenue but I would note this, that President Trump won 8% of the black vote, Mitt Romney won 2% of the Black vote," McEnany said.
Critics pointed out that Trump's 8% support among Black voters is a dismal percentage and mocked the press secretary for promoting that statistic.
—Maya Harris (@mayaharris_) June 9, 2020
McEnany then went on to suggest that Romney is actually racist and pointed to his 2012 statement that "47% of Americans will vote for the president no matter what" and that these Americans "are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them."
The press secretary claimed that Trump took "great offense to those words" and called Romney's sentiments un-American.
While those remarks, which Romney made during a private fundraiser, were widely criticized and denounced as racist at the time, Trump actually defended the comments in 2012.
—The Hill (@thehill) June 8, 2020
When asked about the comments, Trump told CNN's Piers Morgan, "I don't think [Romney] should be apologizing for anything" and Trump accused Obama voters of not paying taxes.
"This is something that has to be discussed. And, as you know, there are tremendous numbers of people — whether it's 47% or close to 50% — that don't pay taxes and that don't pay income taxes, and probably lots of other taxes," he said.
This comes after Trump mocked Romney on Twitter over his participation in the peaceful demonstration.
"Tremendous sincerity, what a guy. Hard to believe, with this kind of political talent, his numbers would 'tank' so badly in Utah!" Trump wrote, retweeting a video of the senator marching in Washington on Sunday night.
The senator told Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson that he was marching "to end violence, to end brutality, and to make sure that people understand that Black Lives Matter."
—Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) June 7, 2020