White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is dismissing the calls for President Donald Trump to address the nation amid intensifying protests over the death of George Floyd while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department.
During an interview on “Fox & Friends” Monday, McEnany suggested there is no need for another statement since Trump has already discussed Floyd’s death.
“The president has addressed this repeatedly. So I looked, and going back to the first day he saw this video, he has addressed the absolutely horrific video of George Floyd,” McEnany said.
She continued, “He has routinely addressed, in his remarks less than 48 hours ago, the issue of law and order in our streets. He’s issued several statements.”
See McEnany’s remarks below:
McEnany went on to discuss the Antifa movement, arguing that an address from Trump will not quell anything.
“But here’s the thing, Ainsley. A national Oval Office address is not going to stop Antifa,” McEnany said. “What’s going to stop Antifa is action. And this president has committed to acting on this.”
She also confirmed Trump has multiple meetings on Monday with leaders as they attempt to navigate through the coming days.
“He has several meetings pertaining to that today. And that’s his focus — acting and keeping our streets safe,” McEnany said.
Over the weekend, Trump released multiple controversial tweets that many have suggested may stoke the racial divide.
Lawmakers and leaders — both Democratic and Republican — criticized the president and urged him to make a call for unity as protests have erupted in at least 140 cities across all 50 states.
“Those are not constructive tweets, without any question,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said on Sunday. “I’m thankful that we can have the conversation. We don’t always agree on any of his tweets beforehand, but we have the ability to sit down and dialogue on how we move this nation forward.”