Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Trump press secretary attacks China and WHO at first White House briefing

Trump press secretary attacks China and WHO at first White House briefing

Kayleigh McEnany was less combative than the president, but channeled him on the coronavirus and Michael Flynn
Donald Trump’s fourth White House press secretary delivered a 30-minute briefing on Friday, ending a more than year-long hiatus for the once-daily occasions.

It was effectively a public debut for Kayleigh McEnany, whose immediate predecessor, Stephanie Grisham, never delivered a briefing in nine months in the role.

Recently, Trump has turned daily coronavirus task force briefings into multi-hour back-and-forths with the press. Taking the lectern for the first time, McEnany stressed that she would be speaking on behalf of the president and the highest-ranking officials in his administration.

“I’m around the president almost the entire day,” she said. “I was just with him before I left to come out and speak with you guys.

“I think my staff can attest to the fact that they have a very hard time finding me because I’m normally with the president in the Oval Office. So I’m consistently with him, absorbing his thinking, and it’s my mission to bring you the mindset of the president, deliver those facts so this president gets fair and accurate reporting and the American people get fair and accurate information.”

McEnany was less outwardly combative than Trump. She did not accuse White House reporters of being or peddling “fake news”. Nor did she say any outlet had terrible ratings.

Still, she repeated Trump’s main arguments. Regarding the World Health Organization and its role in battling the coronavirus outbreak, for example, she said: “The WHO appears to clearly have a China bias.

“I mean, you look at this timeline and it’s really damning for the WHO when you consider the fact that on 31 December you had Taiwanese officials warning about human-to-human transmission, the WHO did not make that public.

“On 9 January, the WHO repeated China’s claim that the virus does not transmit readily between people, that was quite apparently false. On 14 January, the WHO again repeated China’s talking points about no human-to-human transmission.”

Under fire for his own administration’s response to Covid-19, which as of Friday afternoon had infected more than 1 million Americans and killed more than 63,000, Trump has accused the WHO of slow-walking moves that could have prevented global spread. Earlier in April, he announced that his administration would halt funding to the organization, pending a review.

McEnany’s first briefing also landed on the day that Trump’s all-but-certain general election opponent, the former vice-president Joe Biden, publicly responded to an allegation of sexual assault by a former Senate staffer.

McEnany was asked about comments made by the president in an interview with a conservative radio host, that the allegation against Biden by Tara Reade was more credible than those made against the supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by Christine Blasey Ford or against Trump by numerous women.

McEnany framed the accusations as old news that had been cleared up by Trump’s victory in the 2016 election.

“He has always told the truth on these issues,” she claimed. “He’s denied them immediately and you’re bringing up issues … from four years ago that were asked and answered and the American people had their say in the matter when they elected President Trump as president of the United States.

“Leave it to the media to really take an issue about the former vice-president [Biden] and turn it on the president and bring up accusations from four years ago that were asked and answered in the form of the vote of the American people.”

McEnany also discussed Michael Flynn, the first of Trump’s four national security advisers who resigned after a brief spell in the role and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador. The president has indicated a potential pardon for Flynn, who has not yet been sentenced.

On the subject of recently unsealed investigative documents, McEnany was asked why she called the FBI investigation of Flynn a “miscarriage of justice”, given his guilty plea. Reporters, she answered, should more aggressively cover how the FBI handled the investigation.

Again, the press secretary – who earlier promised “never” to lie to reporters – sounded some of the same notes, in a the same tone, as Trump.

“Do you not consider it a miscarriage of justice when you have the FBI writing ‘We want to get someone to lie?’” McEnany said. “The answer’s ‘yes’ and I encourage the media to cover it, because I’ve watched a lot of your networks I’ve read a lot of your papers.

“I’ve seen a whole lot of scant information about Michael Flynn, when there was a whole lot of speculation about Russia, Russia, Russia, culminating in $40m of taxpayer money being lost, and the complete and total exoneration of President Trump.”

Most observers do not consider the special counsel Robert Mueller to have exonerated Trump in his investigation of Russian election interference and links between Trump and Moscow. Indeed, though he did not establish a criminal conspiracy or recommend charges of obstruction of justice, Mueller said he was not clearing the president. Trump and his allies have regularly claimed exoneration regardless.

It is unclear how often McEnany will appear in the White House briefing room. Trump press secretaries had their appearances scaled back after the president decided they were doing an inadequate job.

“As to the timing of the briefings, we do plan to do them,” McEnany said. “I will announce the timing of that forthcoming but we do plan to continue these.”

Her first appearance had lasted about half an hour, well short of Trump’s marathon sessions.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×