As President Donald Trump was preparing to sign an executive order regarding social media companies — apparently sparked by Twitter’s decision to fact-check some of his tweets — reporters were asking if the president should be fact-checked.
“Shouldn’t the president be fact-checked?” CNN’s Jim Acosta asked White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday. He added, “Aren’t you trying to silence fact-checking by going after
[Twitter] like this?”
McEnany responded, “If you’re going to get into the fact-checking business, there’s not one that should be fact-checked more than the mainstream media.”
She continued to list a series of news stories regarding the Trump administration that had to be corrected.
Acosta then asked, “You have pledged in this briefing room to never lie to the American people. Are you saying that the President of the United States has never lied to the public before?”
“His intent is always to give truthful information to American people,” McEnany replied.
Watcht the video below:
.@acosta: "Shouldn't the president be fact-checked…Aren't you trying to silence fact-checking by going after @Twitter like this?"@PressSec: "If you're going to get into the fact-checking business, there's not one that should be fact-checked more than the mainstream media." pic.twitter.com/iOfCg4mTiK
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 28, 2020
The exchange came hours before Trump was set sign an executive order that would direct a review of legal protections for social media companies.
That order comes after Trump made several unproven claims mail-in ballots and suggested that widespread mail-in voting would lead to rampant voter fraud, as IJR reported.
Twitter responded to his claims by adding a fact-check about mail-in voting.
After the fact-check was applied, Trump lashed out at Twitter, “[Twitter] is now interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election. They are saying my statement on Mail-In Ballots, which will lead to massive corruption and fraud, is incorrect.”
Even before the final draft of the executive order was released, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called it “silly” and a “distraction.”