White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday morning seemed to reject the possibility of President Donald Trump giving a formal Oval Office address on the nationwide unrest over George Floyd’s death at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota last week.
When “Fox and Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt brought up calls for Trump to deliver an address, McEnany said that Trump “has addressed” the unrest “repeatedly.”
“But here’s the thing, Ainsley: A national Oval Office address is not going to stop antifa,” the White House press secretary told Earhardt, referring to the anti-fascist movement Trump has baselessly blamed for the demonstrations that have turned violent over the past several days.
“What’s going to stop antifa is action, and this president is committed to acting on this,” McEnany continued. “He has several meetings pertaining to that today. And that’s his focus right now is acting and keeping our streets safe.”
On Sunday, Trump declared that his administration would be “designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization,” despite the fact that antifa is a broad movement against right-wing extremism, not an organized group.
As the protests rage on, Trump remains holed up in the White House while tweeting politically motivated attacks against his enemies, including Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and further fueling the crisis.
With their eyes set on the upcoming election, Trump’s own advisers have reportedly urged him to stop tweeting and formally address the nation in the name of unity instead, advice that the President has plainly ignored.
Watch McEnany below:
McEnany when asked if Trump will hold an Oval Office address: "A national Oval Office address is not going to stop antifa." pic.twitter.com/PWcBRlQXDC
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) June 1, 2020
I’m anti-fascist, guess I’m ANTIFA.
I have a feeling we are going to set the mold for the campaign going forward. Biden is going to be make a televised speech addressing the protests and Trump’s inaction, Trump is going to have a meeting with some governors and security people, and start tweeting that he wants the military taking action (or something equally insane).
The contrast is going to be enormous, and will likely become the framing for both through November.
LoL the WH just called everyone that’s not a Nazi or a racist Antifa.
WTF.
When the occupant can’t read it’s hard to pull off an “address,” however wooden and insincere. Moreover, as has been pointed out, there’s the very real fear that he’ll start riffing.
In short, having the arsonist supervise the dousing of the fire is simply not that great of an idea.
Also, only fascists are anti- anti-fascist.