WASHINGTON: Kayleigh McEnany, a former Fox News figure who is fiercely loyal to President Donald Trump, took over as his new press secretary on Wednesday, entering the high-profile job at a time of confusion in White House relations with the press.
McEnany, 31, made the formal announcement a week after her predecessor, Stephanie Grisham, resigned.
"I was honored to join @WhiteHouse as President Trump's @PressSec," he tweeted. "I look forward to connecting the American people to @ realDonaldTrump's agenda and sharing the historic successes of this Administration."
A graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Law School, McEnany worked for Fox and CNN before joining the Republican National Committee's communications team. She then became the spokesperson for the Trump 2020 re-election campaign.
She enters the White House when Trump is at open war with several major media outlets about critical coverage of his response to the coronavirus pandemic. The crisis and economic consequences have reshaped Trump's re-election offer, which was previously based on a booming economy that now deteriorates terribly every day.
McEnany has come under fire for past comments, including supporting the Trump conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, a falsehood that many consider racist.
He also drew attention to a comment he made on Fox Business in February downplaying the threat of the coronavirus, saying: "We will not see diseases like the coronavirus coming here, we will not see terrorism coming here, and it is not as refreshing in contrast to the horrible presidency. from President Obama?
McEnany faces the immediate question of whether he will actually report to journalists, as press secretaries have always done, or whether he maintains Grisham's policy of speaking largely with Fox News.
A distinctive feature of the Trump White House is that he likes to act as his own spokesperson, tweeting and giving frequent press conferences, rather than stopping by the press office.
In his nine-month term, Grisham did not hold formal press conferences.
McEnany, 31, made the formal announcement a week after her predecessor, Stephanie Grisham, resigned.
"I was honored to join @WhiteHouse as President Trump's @PressSec," he tweeted. "I look forward to connecting the American people to @ realDonaldTrump's agenda and sharing the historic successes of this Administration."
A graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Law School, McEnany worked for Fox and CNN before joining the Republican National Committee's communications team. She then became the spokesperson for the Trump 2020 re-election campaign.
She enters the White House when Trump is at open war with several major media outlets about critical coverage of his response to the coronavirus pandemic. The crisis and economic consequences have reshaped Trump's re-election offer, which was previously based on a booming economy that now deteriorates terribly every day.
McEnany has come under fire for past comments, including supporting the Trump conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, a falsehood that many consider racist.
He also drew attention to a comment he made on Fox Business in February downplaying the threat of the coronavirus, saying: "We will not see diseases like the coronavirus coming here, we will not see terrorism coming here, and it is not as refreshing in contrast to the horrible presidency. from President Obama?
McEnany faces the immediate question of whether he will actually report to journalists, as press secretaries have always done, or whether he maintains Grisham's policy of speaking largely with Fox News.
A distinctive feature of the Trump White House is that he likes to act as his own spokesperson, tweeting and giving frequent press conferences, rather than stopping by the press office.
In his nine-month term, Grisham did not hold formal press conferences.
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