Trump spokeswoman: ‘I don’t think the president has lied’

by Justin Wise - 08/29/19 9:10 AM ET

CNN host Chris Cuomo and Kayleigh McEnany, a spokeswoman for President Trump’s reelection campaign, got into a heated exchange late Wednesday over whether Trump lies, with McEnany repeatedly insisting that he doesn’t.

The contentious back-and-forth came as Cuomo accused the president of consistently lying and demonizing people for being different.

“He doesn’t lie. He doesn’t lie,” McEnany retorted. “The press lies.”

{mosads}She repeated that Trump “doesn’t lie” before stating, “Guess who lies? The press lies.”

“You don’t think this president has ever lied?” Cuomo quickly shot back, before speaking over McEnany and asking, “You don’t think the president has lied to the American people? You have to answer that question first. He has never lied to the American people?”

“I don’t think the president has lied. No, I don’t think the president has lied,” she responded.

“Kayleigh McEnany, your credibility will be shot with my audience if you don’t back off that statement,” Cuomo said, prompting McEnany to claim that CNN and MSNBC have lied to the American people.

“I think that fake news has lied to the American people,” she said, before going on to accuse the press of lying about the president in its coverage of Russian election interference.

“I’ll ask you this one more time, McEnany do you believe this president has ever lied to the American people?” Cuomo asked.

“No,” McEnany, a former CNN contributor and Republican National Committee spokesperson, said. “I don’t believe the president has lied.”

“Wow!” Cuomo responded, adjusting his earpiece. “That blew my IFB right out of my head.”

Cuomo then went on state that he was wrapping up the interview because of McEnany’s denial.

“Please, if you can’t admit that this president has lied to the American people, you will not have credibility with this audience,” he said. “You have a long way to go Kaylee. Listen, when a president is telling the American people every day not to believe in a free press, that they’re the enemy of the state, and he lies about the allies of G-7 saying what we really want to know is why your media hates the country. He is to blame for sowing the seeds of division.”

McEnany responded by accusing the press of lying about everything the president says.

“You may not like what I say, that doesn’t make it a lie. He lies all the time. And you know it,” Cuomo said, with McEnany later shooting back, “You should look in a mirror.”

Trump has made more than 12,000 false or misleading claims during his two-plus years in the White House, according to a Washington Post analysis last updated in early August.

He has repeatedly attacked the press over its coverage, often referring to it as the “enemy of the people” and “fake news.” He also called Cuomo a “total out-of-control animal” earlier this month after video surfaced of him threatening a man who apparently mocked him by calling him “Fredo.”

The president has appeared to ramp up his attacks against the media in recent days. He accused The Washington Post and Axios of making up stories about him, and on Wednesday slammed Fox News for interviewing a Democratic National Committee aide.

Tags Chris Cuomo CNN News Donald Trump