Kayleigh McEnany: This is Trump's goal for reopening schools
Kayleigh McEnany, WH Press Secretary, discusses if the new coronavirus relief package will help get kids back to school
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Tuesday said President Trump is “the right person” to deliver information about the COVID-19 pandemic to the American people, just hours before he is expected to take the podium for a new round of coronavirus briefings amid a surge in positive cases across the country.
“The president is the right person to give information to the American people,” McEnany said Tuesday during a White House press briefing. “He was elected by the American people.”
SCHUMER SAYS TRUMP 'SHOULD NOT TAKE THE PODIUM' FOR CORONAVIRUS BRIEFINGS
McEnany went on to tout the president’s efforts, saying he “outproduced on ventilators,” “broke down bureaucracy to get a vaccine,” and worked to push therapeutics like remdesivir and others.
“He is the right person to give the American people information, and boy does he give information to a lot of American people,” McEnany said, pointing to the ratings the daily briefings received early on in the pandemic.
The president is expected to deliver his first coronavirus briefing Tuesday evening at 5:00 p.m. from the White House in weeks, as cases in some states across the country have surged.
McEnany’s comments also came after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged the president not to take the podium, saying he was a “threat” to the public.
“When the coronavirus briefings resume, President Trump should not take the podium,” Schumer said. “He’s a threat to public health.”
Meanwhile, the president this week touted his past coronavirus briefings, saying they were “very successful” and that they “had a lot of people watching, a record number of people watching.”
TRUMP CORONAVIRUS BRIEFINGS ARE COMING BACK AFTER SURGE IN NEW CASES
“In the history of cable television there’s never been anything like it,” Trump said Monday. “Frankly, a lot of the country has been doing well, as many people don’t say, as you understand. But we have had this big flare-up in Florida, Texas, other places.”
He added: “So, I think what we’re going to do is I’ll get involved and we’ll start doing briefings.”
In the early days of the pandemic, the briefings became a near-daily occurrence, often lasting over an hour. But they also proved risky for the president, who at one point took criticism for suggesting that disinfectants might have the potential to treat the coronavirus. This provoked the makers of Lysol to warn against improper use of disinfectant products. Trump said he was being sarcastic.
Trump said that the briefings would be a “great way” to get information out about the status of coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics, while McEnany will continue to deliver regular briefings.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
More from Politics
