White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Photo / AP
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Photo / AP
She's the young, blonde and beautiful at the forefront of Donald Trump's war on fake news.
The US President's new press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany – his fourth since his term began three and a half years ago – has kicked off her role by making a bold claim.
At thefirst televised media conference by a White House press secretary in more than 400 days, McEnany, three weeks into the job, was asked by a reporter, "Will you pledge to never lie to us?"
Her response? "I will never lie to you; you have my word on that."
Moments later the 32-year-old Harvard Law School graduate, who has been a prominent pro-Trump commentator (and occasional Trump critic) since his campaign for the presidency in 2015, accused dozens of the President's sexual-assault accusers of being liars and said he "always told the truth" in denying the charges on the basis that none of the women were his "type".
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Photo / AP
Her last job was as a spokeswoman for the Trump 2020 campaign, but now McEnany – under new White House chief of staff Mark Meadows – says she is committed to fostering a new era of transparency with the media.
The New York Times thought this was a "lofty goal".
"Trump has made it clear that the job of communicating for him is almost impossible, and that trying to undermine the credibility of the news media is central to his re-election efforts," the Times wrote.
In fact, McEnany's pledge to the roomful of journalists on May 1, three weeks into the job, was a far cry from some of her past interactions with the media, which have been less than friendly.
"Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines," she said after being appointed press secretary in early April, following his suggestion disinfectants could potentially combat the coronavirus.
Kayleigh McEnany during her first briefing as White House press secretary. Photo / AP
And on Twitter last month, she reprimanded a reporter who referred to the president online simply by his last name.
"To you, he's not Trump, he's PRESIDENT Trump!" she tweeted.
McEnany "might as well have come out of Trumpland central casting. As with many in the inner circle, her loyalty is rock solid", The Times of London wrote.
Throughout her career, making her name as CNN's pro-Trump panellist, McEnany has defended some of his most questionable actions.
She insisted the infamous "grab them by the pussy" tape "implied consent" because Trump used the word "let"; argued that his defence of the Charlottesville white supremacist protesters was a message of "love and inclusiveness"; and stated former president Barack Obama was, in fact, the founder of Islamic State.
This coming from a woman who also believes the Confederate flag "shows southern pride" and has argued that police violence against black men has nothing to do with America's history of slavery or racism.
"She defends the president and promotes the president like nobody else. She's also fearless," Trump re-election campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told The New York Times.
Footage has resurfaced in the past week of comments McEnany made before jumping on the Trump-train, when she said in a series of panels on CNN and Fox Business in 2015 it was "unfortunate" and "inauthentic" to call him a Republican.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Photo / AP
"Donald Trump has shown himself to be a showman. I don't think he is a serious candidate," she said in an exchange on CNN in June 2015.
"I think it is a sideshow. It's not within the mainstream of the candidates."
By July and August of that year, however, she had jumped from criticising the future president to defending him.
During a press briefing this March, Trump expressed his frustration with the portrayal of his presidency in the media, saying his team had failed to develop a strong relationship with the press.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds her baby Blake Avery Gilmartin on the South Lawn of the White House. Photo / AP
"The one thing we haven't done well is to get good press. We've done a fantastic job, but it hasn't been appreciated," he said.
McEnany made her determination to communicate Trump's intentions and decisions clear at her first briefing, telling the reporters: "I'm consistently with him absorbing his thinking, and it is my mission to bring you the mindset of the president, deliver those facts."
