Clad in a sharp black buttoned blazer and a silver cross necklace, Kayleigh McEnany made her first appearance at the podium on Friday afternoon as President Trump’s new White House press secretary.
In doing so, McEnany gave the first White House press briefing in 417 days, dating back to when Sarah Huckabee Sanders served in the role in March 2019.
When asked whether McEnany would be holding daily press briefings moving forward, she replied, “We do plan to continue these.”
McEnany recently took over as press secretary from Stephanie Grisham, who did not hold a single press briefing during her tenure in the role, essentially ending what was once a daily tradition.
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After making a brief announcement, she turned quickly to questions from reporters, who greeted her and welcomed her to the role.
“Welcome to the podium for the first time,” Fox News chief White House correspondent John Roberts told McEnany, before asking a question about the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“Welcome to the podium as well,” NBC News White House correspondent Kristin Welker said.
A reporter asked McEnany to pledge to the White House press corps that she would never lie in her role as press secretary.
“I will never lie to you,” McEnany said. “You have my word on that.”
Asked about her access to President Trump, McEnany said that she’s “consistently with him, absorbing his thinking” and will be conveying that thinking to the White House press corps.
In holding regular press briefings again, McEnany’s appearances could essentially be replacing the president’s coronavirus task force briefings, which have stopped in recent days after being an almost daily occurrence for weeks.
“We allow the news of the day to guide us,” McEnany said when asked about the coronavirus briefings. “I encourage the media to convey the facts to the American people.”
