In this day and age, it's pretty easy to fact-check politicians and anyone working for them. Most people are carrying powerful mini-computers in their pockets, after all. But that doesn't stop people from lying, or lying about their lies. Just look at Kayleigh McEnany's claim that she never lied while working for former President Donald Trump.
When McEnany became Trump's press secretary in April 2020, she pledged that she would never lie to reporters. And during a Women's Leadership Summit put on by conservative organization Turning Point USA on Sunday, McEnany made it seem as if she had actually lived up to her promise.
"And then there was the question, 'Will you ever lie to us?' And I said, without hesitation, 'No,'" McEnany told the audience. "And I never did. As a woman of faith, as a mother of baby Blake, as a person who meticulously prepared at some of the world's hardest institutions, I never lied."
McEnany also went on to reference the usual conservative argument that Republicans are unfairly targeted by the media. To confront this, she said, she took up the motto "offense only," because "I knew what we were up against. Republicans always get the bad headlines, always get the false stories, always get the lies, if I can use that word told by the press."
Here's the thing: All of that's a lie.
While it's clear that she wants to pretend otherwise, McEnany's lies throughout her time as press secretary are well-documented. On PolitiFact, a nonpartisan fact-checking organization, McEnany has received abysmal marks for her accuracy. And CNN's Jake Tapper once said that he never interviews McEnany because she "lies the way that most people breathe" and there would be no value in giving her airtime.
McEnany's lies aren't small things, either. During the whole circus where many Republicans tried falsely claiming that the 2020 presidential election results were rigged, McEnany tweeted on Oct. 24 that "Biden admits to voter fraud." Attached to her tweet was a video of Biden where, yes, he uses the words "voter fraud organization".
However, the video is cut to avoid providing any context. Per PolitiFact, Biden was on Pod Save America and answering a question by one of the hosts about what he would say to people who either hadn't voted or had no plan to do so. According to the full transcript, Biden said, "The Republicans are doing everything they can to make it harder for people to vote. We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics."
If that isn't bad enough, Fox News — where McEnany now works as a contributor — once cut away from McEnany during a press conference, after she accused Democrats of "welcoming" fraud and illegal voting last November. When later asked by a reporter if McEnany really knew whether any voter fraud had occurred, she said, "What we are asking for right now is patience as we explore these equal protection claims among others."
But, as most of us know, those claims of voter fraud never unfolded how McEnany and other Republicans wanted. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security referred to the 2020 election as the "most secure in American history," and even Trump's long-time ally, former Attorney General William Barr, said there was no widespread voter fraud. What there were, however, were a whole lot of lies from the White House press shop.
