CNN Cuts Away From 'Lying' Kayleigh McEnany With Savage Factcheck After She Claims Trump 'Never Downplayed the Virus'

it seems as though some in the television news media have had enough.

In the wake of the revelation of tape-recorded admissions by President Trump that he chose to dishonestly downplay the virus to the American people at the start of the pandemic, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed during a press briefing that Trump never did any such thing.

In response, CNN immediately cut away from the briefing and anchor Brianna Keilar emphatically called McEnany a liar before playing footage of Trump downplaying the virus earlier in the year.

The moment came in response to a pointed question from C-SPAN journalist Mario Parker.

"How can a president bear no responsibility for... the almost 200,000 lives lost when he downplayed the virus initially, and he knew how contagious and deadly it was. I don't understand..."

McEnany, visibly annoyed by the question, responds with a blatantly dishonest rebuttal.

"The president never downplayed the virus. Once again, the president expressed calm."

As McEnany continued on a long, discursive listing of all of the supposedly successful ways Trump handled the pandemic, CNN cut away to anchor Brianna Keilar who was unsparing in her summation of McEnany's response.

"That was the press secretary at the White House lying. She said the president never downplayed the coronavirus. This is what the president said at the time."

Keilar then played a series of clips from February of the President doing precisely what Parker accused him of doing: downplaying the virus, includng the President's now infamous "one day like a miracle it will dissapear" quote.

The President has been under fire since tape-recorded conversations between the President and journalist Bob Woodward were made public by The Washington Post yesterday.

In the recordings, which were taken during the beginning of the pandemic in February and March while Woodward was writing his forthcoming book Rage, Trump is heard directly contradicting the statements he gave to the public at the time.

For example, on February 7, Trump told Woodward the virus was "deadly stuff" more dangerous than "your strenuous flu." But on February 26, Trump characterized the virus as "like a regular flu" during an address to the public.

On Twitter, people applauded Keilar's willingness to tell it like it is.

And many called for more Keilar-style straight-talk from the news media when it comes to the Trump Administration.

Keilar also said that McEnany's lying proved just how much Woodward recordings have put the Trump Administration on its heels.

"Kayleigh McEnany lying about how the president described the coronavirus in early days, proving just how concerned the White House, how concerned the president is about these revelations from this upcoming book by Bob Woodward."
 

Woodward's book comes out next Tuesday.