White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was grilled on Wednesday after shocking audio tapes were released of Donald Trump openly admitting that he downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic, despite knowing it was deadly.
“Did President Trump intentionally mislead the American people about the threat of COVID?” CBS correspondent Paul Reid asked McEnany.
“Absolutely not,” the press secretary insisted. “This president, at a time when you’re facing insurmountable challenges, it’s important to express confidence.”
“Is ‘playing it down’, is that expressing calm?” Reid pressed. “It seems dishonest.”
“And he makes clear that he doesn’t want to see chaos, by the way,” McEnany snapped. “Which is the second part of the quote, which you failed to read.”
Reid asked again if “the president lied to the American people about the threat of COVID.”
“The president has never lied to the American public on COVID,” McEnany said. “The president was expressing calm and his actions reflect that.”
Take a look at the altercation between McEnany and reporters below:
