Thursday during the White House press briefing, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was pressed over schools deciding “to go online only” in the Fall, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“What does the president say to parents out there who are now going, ‘Okay, what do I do with my kids?'” a reporter asked McEnany.
“The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open, and I was just in the Oval [Office] talking to him about that,” McEnany said. “When he says open, he means open in full– kids being able to attend each and every day at their school.”
“The science should not stand in the way of this. And as Dr. Scott Atlas said, ‘Of course, we could do it. Everyone else in the Western World, our peer nations are doing it. We are the outlier here,'” McEnany said of former Stanford Neuroradiology Chief Dr. Scott Atlas’ statement on Fox News, Wednesday.
“The science is very clear on this,” McEnany continued. “For instance you look at the JAMA Pediatrics study of 46 pediatrics hospitals in North America that said the ‘risk of critical illness for COVID is far less than that of season flu. The science is on our side here. We encourage for localities in states to just simply follow the science, open our schools.”
“It’s very damaging to our children. There’s a lack of reporting of abuse. There’s mental depressions that are not addressed, suicidal audiations that are not addressed when students are not in school. Our schools are extremely important. They are essential, and the must reopen,” she added. Continued Below
Upon the press secretary’s remarks, several left wing journalists with blue check marks on Twitter, along with The Washington Post, took McEnany’s remarks out of context.
The Washingon Post tweeted a video of McEnany’s full statement, but wrote in their headline on Twitter: “White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on school reopenings: The science should not stand in the way of this.”
Kayleigh McEnany fired back and scolded the media on Twitter, writing: “Case Study in Media Bias: I said: ‘The science is very clear on this…the science is on our side here. We encourage our localities & states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools.’ But leave it to the media to deceptively suggest I was making the opposite point!” Video Below
The Washington Post misleads users on Twitter:
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on school reopenings:
"The science should not stand in the way of this.” pic.twitter.com/w6H9DM0uTV
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 16, 2020
Kayleigh McEnany fires back:
Case Study in Media Bias:
I said: “The science is very clear on this…the science is on our side here. We encourage our localities & states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools.”
But leave it to the media to deceptively suggest I was making the opposite point! https://t.co/vlxk3zRsgh
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) July 16, 2020
Continued Below
CNN’s Jim Acosta peddles the smear:
https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1283839301734801410?s=20
CBS’s Weijia Jiang jumped on the bandwagon, but later tweeted a transcript of McEnany’s full context.
Here is the exchange from the White House transcript in case you didn’t watch the clip above.
While @PressSec mentions a @JAMA_current study later in her remarks, when she says “Science should not stand in the way of this”,
“this” refers to Trump’s desire to reopen schools. pic.twitter.com/2J7pgKAyqS— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) July 16, 2020
Former Obama WH Cabinet Secretary, Chris Lu, tweeted:
"The science should not stand in the way of this"
From the president who told you to:
-Inject bleach
-Rake forest floors to stop wildfires
-Change hurricane paths with a sharpie
-Focus on windmill cancer
-Stare at eclipses without safety glasses https://t.co/bFs0tkicOl
— Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) July 16, 2020
Continued Below
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) retweeted Jim Acosta’s one liner:
White House Press Secretary on reopining schools: "The science should not stand in the way of this."
Me: Yep, science has nothing to do with school. Smh
— Chip Franklin InsideTheBeltway.com (@chipfranklin) July 16, 2020
National political reporter for NBC News, Josh Lederman, tweeted:
“The science should not stand in the way of this,” @PressSec says of fully re-opening schools
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) July 16, 2020
ABC News also ran with the deceptive quote:
McEnany: Pres. Trump wants schools to open, "and when he says open, he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day."
"The science should not stand in the way of this," McEnany says, before adding, "the science is on our side here." https://t.co/A0aOuFmuUY pic.twitter.com/y7uyS9W9ld
— ABC News (@ABC) July 16, 2020
Along with ABC News’ 2020 campaign reporter Will Steakin:
WH @PressSec claims "science should not stand in the way" of opening up schools amid a ongoing and surging pandemic
"Open and full. Kids being able to attend each and every day."
— Will Steakin (@wsteaks) July 16, 2020
Meanwhile, CNN’s Jake Tapper defended McEnany, insisting that the media should: “be fair”.
Folks read the ENTIRE McEnany comment about "the science should not stand in the way" of opening schools. She's arguing that the science is on the side of those who want to open them, she cites a JAMA study. I'm not taking a position on the matter but be fair.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 16, 2020
