White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany called out CNN hosts Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon for their recent rhetoric about violent protests during Monday’s news briefing.
A reporter asked if President Trump was sorry for the way peaceful protestors have been treated, as the nation has been flooded with protests, which have sometimes turned violent, since George Floyd’s Memorial Day death in police custody.
“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 protestors are supposed to be peaceful.’ Well, I point him to the First Amendment where it is said you have the right to ‘peaceably assemble.’ He should go back and read the Constitution,” McEnany said.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany challenged the coverage from CNN's Chris Cuomo, left, and Don Lemon. (File)
CNN'S DON LEMON SAYS 'WE ARE TEETERING ON A DICTATORSHIP' FOLLOWING TRUMP'S GEORGE FLOYD ADDRESS
“There are many others out there, Don Lemon saying that rioting is a ‘mechanism to restructure our country,’” McEnany said. “The actions of the rioters were not in keeping with the First Amendment and I think the media needs to recognize that there is a discernment between the peaceful protestors, many of whom I have seen, and the rioters.”
McEnany added that Trump "will not allow burning buildings.”
CNN'S CHRIS CUOMO BLASTED FOR SUGGESTING PROTESTERS DON'T HAVE TO BE 'PEACEFUL'
Last week, the “Cuomo Prime Time” namesake raised eyebrows when he suggested that the protesters didn't have to be “polite and peaceful.”
“Now, too many see the protests as the problem. No, the problem is what forced your fellow citizens to take to the streets: persistent, poisonous inequities and injustice,” Cuomo told his viewers. “And please, show me where it says protesters are supposed to be polite and peaceful, because I can show you that outraged citizens are what made the country what she is and led to any major milestone. To be honest, this is not a tranquil time.”
Cuomo later added, “Police are the ones required to be peaceful, to deescalate, to remain calm.”
McEnany, who has made a habit out of calling out members of the media for their own behavior when faced with hostile questions, apparently took notice.
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Meanwhile, Lemon has suggested that Trump “contributed” to the environment that led to Floyd’s death and has been an outspoken critic of the president.
“We are teetering on a dictatorship. This is chaos. Has the president -- I’m listening, is the president declaring war on Americans? What is happening here? He is saying that he wants to protect peaceful protesters at the same time sending law enforcement and military into the streets to push peaceful protesters back, to be aggressive with peaceful protesters. He is doing the exact opposite of what he said in that speech,” Lemon said last week following Trump’s Rose Garden address when he said he would consider deploying the armed services if states didn’t get riots under control.
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.