People want to know the new White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who replaced Stephanie Grisham.
McEnany will work with Alyssa Farah, the White House director of strategic communications, and Ben Williamson, senior adviser for communications. Meanwhile, Grisham will work as the chief of staff and spokeswoman of the first lady Melania Trump.
McEnany is the first major appointment made by new White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who replaced Mick Mulvaney.
Grisham, McEnany’s predecessor, was criticized by the media after not conducting a press briefing in her nine months in the position. Grisham would appear from time to time on Fox News and defend US President Donald Trump on Twitter.
Unlike Grisham, McEnany is prepared to face the camera, given her experience as a paid contributor on CNN and her more than 200 appearances on Fox News weekday programming since August 2017 based on the tally of MMFA.
McEnany will be the Trump's fourth press secretary. She would follow Grisham, Sarah Sanders, and Sean Spicer.
McEnany, 31, is a graduate of Harvard Law School. She was named national press secretary for President Trump’s reelection campaign in February 2019.
A loyal supporter and defender of the president, McEnany made a reputation for being a conservative pundit on CNN. She was appointed as a national spokesperson for the Republican National Committee in 2017 and then transferred to the Trump campaign.
In 2018, McEnany released a book titled “The New American Revolution: The Making of a Populist Movement.”
Raised in Tampa, Florida, McEnany graduated with a Bachelor of Science in foreign service from Georgetown University.
She is married to professional baseball player Sean Gilmartin, and they have one daughter together.
McEnany on coronavirus
In February 2020, McEnany downplayed the threat brought by the coronavirus pandemic while attacking former President Barack Obama.
"We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism, and isn't that refreshing when contrasting it with the awful presidency of Barack Obama?" said McEnany.
When the number of coronavirus cases spiraled into thousands in the US, McEnany claimed that her statement was taken out of context.
"I was asked about travel restrictions & stated the intent of those restrictions: 'We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here,'" she said on Twitter.
"DR. FAUCI articulated this intent: 'What we're doing now with the other travel restrictions - so you block infections from coming in.'"
"And I was right," she continued. "Dr. Fauci has said the travel restrictions on China were a 'very smart move' and 'the right public health call.' Dr. Fauci said there is 'no question' there would be more US cases if President Trump didn’t take the action I defended & Biden criticized!"
"President Trump works to defeat the invisible enemy while you mislead the nation!" she ended her thread.
Meanwhile, the former role of Farah, the new director of strategic communications, is press secretary for the Department of Defense. Williamson was previously Meadows' communication director on Capital Hill during his time as a representative from North Carolina.
