Image: Kayleigh McEnany, Jill Colvin, YouTube Screenshots

Press Secretary Slams “Gotcha Question” on PPE from Reporter, “Ask Obama”

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AP Reporter Jill Colvin, who we have previously reported on as the person who asked Kayleigh McEnany to pledge “never to lie”, is back at it again, with what some might perceive as another gotcha question. This time she tried to press McEnany on the amount of PPE or personal protective equipment, that was available in stock by the federal government before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

McEnany, not having any of it, of course, hit back immediately. She quickly reminded Colvin that “Obama left the cupboards bare” and suggested that the reporter ask Barack Obama himself why that was. “You’ve talked about all this preparation that the Trump administration did, but then how come on January 2020, the stockpile was as low as it was…

“McEnany quickly retorted without a pause and with a smile, “yeah that’s a really good question, it’s a really important question and perhaps I should redirect your question to President Obama who left the stockpile empty. There was a USA Today fact check of that, he left the cupboards bare as the president noted, and USA Today said there was no indication that the Obama administration took significant steps to replenish the supply of N95 masks in the strategic national stockpile after it was depleted from repeated crises.”

She goes on to say that at the end of “H1N1” it was empty (the stockpile) and wraps up that part of her answer. See the exchange below:

At the end of the press briefing which can be seen in full here, McEnany strides off while reporters tried to get a few more questions in and compliments the outfit of one the reporters very nonchalantly on the way out.

https://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse/videos/711862562905944/
Ian MacDonald
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