Press Briefing by Kayleigh McEnany; June 10, 2020

[mahatmakanejeeves]

PRESS BRIEFINGS

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany
Issued on: June 10, 2020

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

2:48 P.M. EDT

MS. MCENANY: So, I’m sorry we are very late, you guys. I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I was working with the President on something, and he wanted me to hand this out to you all. And I have it here, so I want to read it to the American public, directly from the President:

“It has been suggested that we should rename as many as 10 of our legendary military bases, such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina; Fort Hood in Texas; Fort Benning in Georgia.” And the list goes on. “These monumental and very powerful bases have become part of a great American heritage and a history of winning, victory, and freedom. The United States of America trained and deployed our heroes [here]…and won two world wars. Therefore, my administration will not even consider the renaming of these magnificent and fabled military installations. Our history, as the greatest nation in the world, will not be tampered with. Respect our military!”

So that was directly from the President. And we spent some time working on that, and I wanted to deliver that to you.

{snip}

And, with that, I’ll take questions.

Q Kayleigh —

MS. MCENANY: Kristen.

Q Kayleigh, thank you so much. Does the President regret tweeting out a baseless conspiracy theory about a 75-year-old protester on the morning of George Floyd’s funeral?

MS. MCENANY: The President was asking questions about an interaction in a video clip he saw. And the President has the right to ask those questions.

Q But does he regret tweeting out this protester was assaulted?

MS. MCENANY: The President does not regret standing up for law enforcement men and women across this country.

And let me say this and just give you a little bit about the mindset behind the President’s tweet: Look, we are living in a moment that is — it seems to be reflexively anti-police officer, and it’s unacceptable to the President. In this tweet that he sent out, he was in no way condoning violence, he was not passing judgement on these two officers in particular, but what he was saying is this: When we see a brief snippet of a video, it’s incumbent upon reporters and those who are surveying the situation to ask questions, rather —

Q But isn’t it incumbent upon the President to have facts before he tweets anything out? He’s the President of the United States.

MS. MCENANY: The President did have facts, before he tweeted it out, that undergirded his questions.

Q But it’s a baseless conspiracy theory. Do you acknowledge that?

MS. MCENANY: It’s not a baseless conspiracy — no, not at all. I won’t acknowledge that. Because, look, you had — let’s contrast this to the George Floyd situation, which — that horrific video that we all saw. Every single police officer that I saw across the country came out and said, “This is an inexcusable action, and I condemn this police officer.”

In this case, there were 57 police officers who said, “I resign in protest over the way these two officers were handled.” And the President says those law enforcement officers have a right to be heard.

John.

Q But does the President think that anything justifies that 75-year-old man being pushed down to the ground, like we all saw in the video?

MS. MCENANY: The President does not condone violence. He wants to see the appropriate amount of police force used in any given situation, including this one, but he believes that the officers have a right to be heard.

Q And very quickly: George Floyd’s brother is here testifying. Has the White House invited him here to meet with the President?

MS. MCENANY: The President has repeatedly acknowledged George Floyd, his passing, the egregiousness of that atrocity, and has called the family by phone, as he did last week.

{snip}

Q So an ex-judge appointed to review the Flynn case said the Justice Department “has engaged in highly irregular conduct to benefit a political ally of the President,” and he urged the presiding judge in the case to deny attempt by the government to dismiss the charges. What is the White House reaction?

MS. MCENANY: That’s the first I’m hearing about it. I’d pointed to DOJ on that.

{snip}

Q Just one follow-up on another issue on Kristen’s —

MS. MCENANY: Yeah.

Q — with regard to the tweet: One of the things that the President said in his tweet was that the gentleman “fell harder than [he] was pushed.” How is — how does that work in terms of physics?

MS. MCENANY: Look, I — the President raised several questions based on a report he saw. He has a right to ask those questions. And where he stands is squarely with law enforcement. He was making no judgments — not condoning violence, not saying what happened in this case with these two officers was right or wrong — but he’s standing back and saying we need to ask questions before we destroy lives and convict people in the court of public opinion.

{snip}

Q Kayleigh, back on the Buffalo protester: Is the President disappointed that more Republicans have not lined up to support the questions he asked, to use your characterization of it, which many people also characterize it as a conspiracy theory?

And secondly, has the President reached out either to the injured gentleman or to the police officers involved?

MS. MCENANY: So, first of all, President Trump, I would say, he’s not focused on what Republicans are saying or not saying on the Hill; he’s focused on making changes. As I said, he’s been diligently hard at work the last 10 days, and that is where his focus squarely lies at the moment.

Yes.

Q And has he reached out to either the gentleman or the —

MS. MCENANY: Not — not that I’m aware of, no.

Q Will he consider it?

MS. MCENANY: Not that I’m aware of.

{snip}

Neils.

Q Kayleigh, thank you. Thank you. Going back to where you started, with the statement about renaming the military bases: If Congress were to send over, say, the defense authorization with language that were to rename one of these bases for someone who, say, was a general who won the Civil War, would the President veto the defense authorization?

MS. MCENANY: The President will not be signing legislation that renames America’s forts. It’s important to note — you know, Fort Bragg, for example: It’s one of the largest military installations. It’s home to tens of thousands of brave American soldiers. And when you think of Fort Bragg, we think of the brave soldiers that deployed from there. We think of all five World War Two airborne divisions — the 82nd, the 101st, the 11th, 13th, and the 17th — all trained at Fort Bragg. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion — this was the first black parachute battalion trained at this fort.

We must recognize the sacrifices made by these men and women, some of whom saw Fort Bragg for the last time before they went overseas. We’ve got to think of the Fort Bragg soldiers that have led humanitarian option — operations, like in Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti.

We’ve got to honor what has happened there, not rename it. So that is an absolute nonstarter for the President.

And I would also note —

Q Kayleigh, and then one more question on that, if I could.

MS. MCENANY: Yeah. John.

Q One more question on that. General David Petraeus is
one of those people who went through Fort Bragg a number of times, even though his first command was at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He penned a quite lengthy and detailed editorial about the reasons why those bases should be renamed, saying it’s ironic that American soldiers and Marines are being trained at bases named for people who fought against the Union back in the Civil War; that many of the people for whom these bases are named were leaders held in questionable regard but who were elevated during the Lost Cause movement.

He goes on to say, “We do not live in a country to which Braxton Bragg, Henry L. Benning, or Robert E. Lee can serve as an inspiration.” What does the White House say to that particular point of view?

MS. MCENANY: Fort Bragg is known for the heroes within it that trained there, that deployed from there. And it’s an insult to say to the men and women who left there, the last thing they saw on American soil before going overseas — and in some cases, losing their lives — to tell them that what they left was inherently a racist institution because of a name. That’s unacceptable to the President, and rightfully so.

And I would also note: Where do you draw the line here? I’m told that no longer can you find on HBO “Gone with the Wind,” because somehow that is now offensive. Where do you draw the line? Is it — should George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and James Madison be erased from history? What about FDR and his internment camps? Should he be erased from history? Or Lyndon Johnson, who has a history of documented racist statements.

And, finally, what about people that are alleged by the media to be segregationists? NBC tells us Joe Biden didn’t just compromise with segregationists; he fought for their causes in schools, experts say. CNN tells us letters from Joe Biden reveal how he sought support of segregationists in the fight against busing. The Washington Post tells us that Biden’s tough talk on 1970s schools’ desegregation plans could get him new scrutiny. And there are several more where that came from.

So, I’ll leave you with a question: Should we then rename the Biden Welcome Center?

Thanks very much, guys.

END

[Walleye]

1. Let's just start with those who took up arms against the United States

Too hard for these racists to understand that? But they are none too bright