Kayleigh McEnany has resigned from her role as White House spokesperson after just five days in the position. President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he had suggested to McEnany that she reconsider her role, while reports surfaced that she had been dismissed prior to this.
Trump's Advice to McEnany
Trump stated, "I told her honestly, if I were you, I would think about it again." He also asked McEnany, "Kayleigh, do you need this? I don’t think you need this." Trump added that the final decision was up to McEnany and mentioned that he would talk to her after his trip to Georgia. He said, "I just want her to be happy."
Comparison to Scaramucci's Tenure
McEnany's brief tenure is naturally compared to Anthony Scaramucci's 11 days as White House communications director in 2017. The then-White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, fired Scaramucci after he gave a controversial interview to The New Yorker. In Washington slang, the tenures of prominent White House officials are humorously measured in "Scaramuccis."
Trump also mentioned that McEnany had been under significant media pressure since taking on the spokesperson role and stated that she had been criticized in a "very unfair" manner. He referenced the media backlash following McEnany's first press conference on Tuesday, saying, "I told her she should think again because she doesn’t want to experience this."
Criticism and Background of McEnany
McEnany faced severe criticism after her first press conference, which lasted only 14 minutes and involved questions from just three reporters. She was introduced as a lawyer, but when asked where she had taken the bar exam, she gave an incorrect answer and later stated in an interview with Fox that she had failed the bar exam.
Previously, McEnany served as a public advisor at a conservative nonprofit organization called Fix California and has experience working as a communications advisor in Trump's media and technology group. She also served as spokesperson for Kristi Noem, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, and has appeared on conservative media outlets like Fox News and Newsmax.
