White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany was asked by Ryan Lizza (the same reporter who asked if Trump was happy the South had lost the Civil War) if the White House believes that the media has been scaring people about the coronavirus, as referenced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Kayleigh responded yes, and provided examples:
"I think in many cases the media has tried to scare the American people… There are real costs to a draconian extended shutdown and you never heard the other side of the health equation." pic.twitter.com/KDrBqgxLii
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 21, 2020
Kayleigh responded saying “I think in many cases the media has tried to scare the American people. I think there’s been a deficit in reporting on the cost of staying shut down for instance.”
She then cited the American cancer society saying there’d been an 80% drop in cancer cases being identified, arguing that “there are real costs to a draconian extended shutdown and you never heard the other side of the health equation.”
“You never heard that mammograms were down by 87 percent and colonoscopies were down by 90% and drug overdoses going up month after month through the lockdown. So it was the right decision to make; the president saved three to four million lives. But it’s important to note the other side of the health equation about what extended lockdowns do.”
In another clip from her press conference, Kayleigh confirmed that Trump stands with the McCloskeys:
.@PressSec on the St. Louis couple that was charged with a felony for arming themselves against rioters who were trespassing on their property. pic.twitter.com/AziSqc3HHR
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 21, 2020
You can watch Kayleigh’s full press conference here.