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Press Briefing by Kayleigh McEnany; June 8, 2020
Last edited Tue Jun 9, 2020, 06:59 AM - Edit history (1)
PRESS BRIEFINGS
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany
Issued on: June 8, 2020
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
2:13 P.M. EDT
MS. MCENANY: Hello everyone. The transition to greatness has officially begun. Friday’s jobs report was encouraging, to say the absolute least. The jobs in this country — we had more than 2.5 million added. The prediction was that 7.5 million jobs would be lost. This was a 10 million swing toward the positive side and, in fact, the greatest number of jobs created in a single month on record. That is extraordinary. 225,000 manufacturing jobs, 464,000 thousand construction jobs, and 1.2 million leisure and hospitality jobs were all added in May.
{snip}
Q Okay. And just one final: the new Lafayette Square fencing. Do you have any indication on when that might be removed or taken down, since the protests have become more peaceful? And who makes that decision?
MS. MCENANY: Yeah, you know, I don’t have any announcements with regard to the fencing. That’s not something that’s in White House control, in terms of securing the perimeter.
But what I would say is the President has recognized that the protests have largely been peaceful. Why have they been peaceful? It’s because of the actions taken by this administration.
If you’ll notice, Minneapolis was in chaos until the National Guard came in, and then it was secure. You had outside, here in Lafayette Park — I had noted the 750 law enforcement officers that were injured across the country. Well, one fifth of those were in D.C. and the vast majority in Lafayette Park. And once the National Guard came — came in, D.C. was secure. That Monday decision by the President of encouraging governors to surge National Guard made the difference.
And the President has recognized — now that the protests are peaceful, he’s recommended a winding down of the National Guard. Very peaceful protests over the weekend. So with regard to the security of the building: not a decision for the White House. Would refer you to Secret Service and Park Services on that. But the President has recognized the peaceful protesting and is encouraged by that.
{snip}
Q Kayleigh?
MS. MCENANY: Yes, Steven.
Q Is there any — a week after what we saw at Lafayette Park last Monday night, are there any people here in this building who believe that — or does the President believe that perhaps things went the way they shouldn’t have gone? Is there any regret on the part of the President or anyone here about how people were treated — people who were peacefully protesting — and how they were rushed out so violently?
MS. MCENANY: No. There is no regrets on the part of this White House because — look, I’d note that many of those decisions were not made here within the White House. It was AG Barr who made the decision to move the perimeter Monday night. Park Police also had made that decision independently when they saw the violence in Lafayette Square.
And when — before these protesters were moved by Park Police and they issued that tactical order, there were three loud warnings, and — as I believe, it was AG Barr on “Face the Nation” noted — that some of those protesters moved back and adhered to the warning, but others of those protesters started hurling objects, and that was unacceptable. And Park Police acted as they felt they needed to at that time, in response, and we stand by those actions.
Q The country and the world saw this violent clash between the people who were otherwise peacefully protesting. But really, the President is not sorry for the way things went?
MS. MCENANY: No. The President is sorry about the fact that Antifa wreaked havoc in our streets and the failure of some members of the media to note that. Like CNN’s Chris Cuomo said, “Show me where it says protesters are supposed to be peaceful.” Well, I’d point him to the First Amendment, where it says that you have the right to, quote, “peaceably assemble.” He should go back and read the Constitution.
There are many others out there, like Don Lemon saying that rioting is a mechanism to restructure our country. Burning down St. John’s, using a pick to — to literally, like, carve out, as we saw in that video, concrete from the sidewalk to hurl at officers, that’s not peacefully protesting. The act- — the actions of the rioters were not in keeping with the First Amendment.
And I think the media needs to recognize there’s a discernment between the peaceful protesters, many of whom I’ve seen, and the rioters. And, yes, America will act against rioters. And, yes, under President Trump, he will not allow burning buildings, 150 federal buildings to be defaced, and 750 law enforcement officers to be injured in our country.
Q Can I ask you one more —
MS. MCENANY: Yes, Brian.
Q — about the President?
MS. MCENANY: Oh, I like the blue suit.
Q Oh, thank you.
MS. MCENANY: That’s a really snazzy look.
Q Thank you.
MS. MCENANY: Yeah.
Q Just to follow up on that: You do know that the burning of St. John’s happened on Sunday night, and a lot of the violence that you’re talking about, that happened on Sunday night.
What he was asking about was Monday, when, as anyone who was down there knows, it was almost exlusively peaceful, especially the moments before the chemical munitions were used on those protesters. So do you just want to clarify that about the burning of St. John’s? Because that happened on a different day.
MS. MCENANY: Yeah. The burning of St John’s is what prompted the decision to move the perimeter. It’s what prompted Park Police to say, that evening, the perimeter must be moved.
Q Sunday.
MS. MCENANY: It’s what prompted — yes. It’s what prompted AG Barr to agree with that decision on Monday morning that the perimeter needed to be moved.
But when you hurl objects at Park Police, when you don’t move after three orders are given — Park Police acted appropriately. When the shield of Park Police was batted down, when one person tried to grab a Park Police officer’s weapon — that’s not peaceful, by any definition of the word.
Q And one question on —
MS. MCENANY: Yeah.
Q — the area in front of the White House is now officially known as “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” Does the President agree with that decision?
MS. MCENANY: I haven’t talked to him about it. I haven’t mentioned that to him.
Yes.
Q Finally, Kayleigh, does he agree, in general, the way that Mitt Romney stated over the weekend he does, with the core message of Black Lives Matter?
MS. MCENANY: Yeah — Mitt Romney can say three words outside on Pennsylvania Avenue, but I would note this: that President Trump won 8 percent of the black vote; Mitt Romney won 2 percent of the black vote.
I believe President Trump — people across the country recognize that, while Mitt Romney has a lot of words — notably, he said that 47 percent of the nation is “dependent upon government, [who] believes they are victims, [who] believes that the government has a responsibility to care for them.” Those were Mitt Romney’s words not too long ago.
The President takes great offense to those words. That’s not America. Guess what America is? It’s when, given opportunity via a Trump Opportunity Zone, belief that Americans of all races can rise to the occasion and achieve; belief in HBCUs and giving funding — record funding to HBCUs because we need to enable education in our country and school choice. Those kind of actions on the part of the President stand in stark contrast with the very empty words of Senator Romney.
{snip}
Thank you so much.
END
2:41 P.M. EDT
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany
Issued on: June 8, 2020
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
2:13 P.M. EDT
MS. MCENANY: Hello everyone. The transition to greatness has officially begun. Friday’s jobs report was encouraging, to say the absolute least. The jobs in this country — we had more than 2.5 million added. The prediction was that 7.5 million jobs would be lost. This was a 10 million swing toward the positive side and, in fact, the greatest number of jobs created in a single month on record. That is extraordinary. 225,000 manufacturing jobs, 464,000 thousand construction jobs, and 1.2 million leisure and hospitality jobs were all added in May.
{snip}
Q Okay. And just one final: the new Lafayette Square fencing. Do you have any indication on when that might be removed or taken down, since the protests have become more peaceful? And who makes that decision?
MS. MCENANY: Yeah, you know, I don’t have any announcements with regard to the fencing. That’s not something that’s in White House control, in terms of securing the perimeter.
But what I would say is the President has recognized that the protests have largely been peaceful. Why have they been peaceful? It’s because of the actions taken by this administration.
If you’ll notice, Minneapolis was in chaos until the National Guard came in, and then it was secure. You had outside, here in Lafayette Park — I had noted the 750 law enforcement officers that were injured across the country. Well, one fifth of those were in D.C. and the vast majority in Lafayette Park. And once the National Guard came — came in, D.C. was secure. That Monday decision by the President of encouraging governors to surge National Guard made the difference.
And the President has recognized — now that the protests are peaceful, he’s recommended a winding down of the National Guard. Very peaceful protests over the weekend. So with regard to the security of the building: not a decision for the White House. Would refer you to Secret Service and Park Services on that. But the President has recognized the peaceful protesting and is encouraged by that.
{snip}
Q Kayleigh?
MS. MCENANY: Yes, Steven.
Q Is there any — a week after what we saw at Lafayette Park last Monday night, are there any people here in this building who believe that — or does the President believe that perhaps things went the way they shouldn’t have gone? Is there any regret on the part of the President or anyone here about how people were treated — people who were peacefully protesting — and how they were rushed out so violently?
MS. MCENANY: No. There is no regrets on the part of this White House because — look, I’d note that many of those decisions were not made here within the White House. It was AG Barr who made the decision to move the perimeter Monday night. Park Police also had made that decision independently when they saw the violence in Lafayette Square.
And when — before these protesters were moved by Park Police and they issued that tactical order, there were three loud warnings, and — as I believe, it was AG Barr on “Face the Nation” noted — that some of those protesters moved back and adhered to the warning, but others of those protesters started hurling objects, and that was unacceptable. And Park Police acted as they felt they needed to at that time, in response, and we stand by those actions.
Q The country and the world saw this violent clash between the people who were otherwise peacefully protesting. But really, the President is not sorry for the way things went?
MS. MCENANY: No. The President is sorry about the fact that Antifa wreaked havoc in our streets and the failure of some members of the media to note that. Like CNN’s Chris Cuomo said, “Show me where it says protesters are supposed to be peaceful.” Well, I’d point him to the First Amendment, where it says that you have the right to, quote, “peaceably assemble.” He should go back and read the Constitution.
There are many others out there, like Don Lemon saying that rioting is a mechanism to restructure our country. Burning down St. John’s, using a pick to — to literally, like, carve out, as we saw in that video, concrete from the sidewalk to hurl at officers, that’s not peacefully protesting. The act- — the actions of the rioters were not in keeping with the First Amendment.
And I think the media needs to recognize there’s a discernment between the peaceful protesters, many of whom I’ve seen, and the rioters. And, yes, America will act against rioters. And, yes, under President Trump, he will not allow burning buildings, 150 federal buildings to be defaced, and 750 law enforcement officers to be injured in our country.
Q Can I ask you one more —
MS. MCENANY: Yes, Brian.
Q — about the President?
MS. MCENANY: Oh, I like the blue suit.
Q Oh, thank you.
MS. MCENANY: That’s a really snazzy look.
Q Thank you.
MS. MCENANY: Yeah.
Q Just to follow up on that: You do know that the burning of St. John’s happened on Sunday night, and a lot of the violence that you’re talking about, that happened on Sunday night.
What he was asking about was Monday, when, as anyone who was down there knows, it was almost exlusively peaceful, especially the moments before the chemical munitions were used on those protesters. So do you just want to clarify that about the burning of St. John’s? Because that happened on a different day.
MS. MCENANY: Yeah. The burning of St John’s is what prompted the decision to move the perimeter. It’s what prompted Park Police to say, that evening, the perimeter must be moved.
Q Sunday.
MS. MCENANY: It’s what prompted — yes. It’s what prompted AG Barr to agree with that decision on Monday morning that the perimeter needed to be moved.
But when you hurl objects at Park Police, when you don’t move after three orders are given — Park Police acted appropriately. When the shield of Park Police was batted down, when one person tried to grab a Park Police officer’s weapon — that’s not peaceful, by any definition of the word.
Q And one question on —
MS. MCENANY: Yeah.
Q — the area in front of the White House is now officially known as “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” Does the President agree with that decision?
MS. MCENANY: I haven’t talked to him about it. I haven’t mentioned that to him.
Yes.
Q Finally, Kayleigh, does he agree, in general, the way that Mitt Romney stated over the weekend he does, with the core message of Black Lives Matter?
MS. MCENANY: Yeah — Mitt Romney can say three words outside on Pennsylvania Avenue, but I would note this: that President Trump won 8 percent of the black vote; Mitt Romney won 2 percent of the black vote.
I believe President Trump — people across the country recognize that, while Mitt Romney has a lot of words — notably, he said that 47 percent of the nation is “dependent upon government, [who] believes they are victims, [who] believes that the government has a responsibility to care for them.” Those were Mitt Romney’s words not too long ago.
The President takes great offense to those words. That’s not America. Guess what America is? It’s when, given opportunity via a Trump Opportunity Zone, belief that Americans of all races can rise to the occasion and achieve; belief in HBCUs and giving funding — record funding to HBCUs because we need to enable education in our country and school choice. Those kind of actions on the part of the President stand in stark contrast with the very empty words of Senator Romney.
{snip}
Thank you so much.
END
2:41 P.M. EDT
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