With Kayleigh McEnany, the White House Isn't Even Pretending the Truth Matters
Donald Trumps campaign for the White House was premised on the fact that these moments proved that all of these Washington norms and mores were performative bullshit. That the reality is everyone was a liar, looking out only for themselves. That nobody actually believed in the imaginary rules of the game, so there was no sense in following them.
And when Kayleigh McEnany took the podium for the first time, it was clear that all the pretense of the past was long gone and that the game had changed, maybe for good.
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UNLIKE MOST OF HER PREDECESSORS as White House Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany didnt come to the job with a background as a reporter or a career press secretary. She never had a prominent role in a political campaign or in government. Instead she is the first of a new type of press secretary, one that if current trends are any indication we will have to get used to. She blazed the path to the podium on the back of her experience as an internet troll turned cable news pundit. (Fun fact: McEnany was rejected by Fox before getting scooped up by CNNs Jeff Zucker who was looking for a new character in a drama his words who was willing to defend Donald Trump on the network. And what a character she has become).
In this way, and others, her elevation mirrors that of her boss.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/kayleigh-mcenany-first-press-conference-lie-tell-the-truth-993705/