Strange Things Everyone Ignores About Kayleigh McEnany

Donald Trump ally Kayleigh McEnany has done some shady things over the years, and the former White House press secretary has weathered plenty of tragedies in the public eye too, but there are certain things McEnany has said and done that were suspect, yet never managed to last more than one news cycle. She was once a vocal Trump critic, something that's hard to believe today, given her unwavering support of the president. In fact, the former press secretary called the divisive politician out for his "racist" and "hateful" comments about Mexican immigrants in 2015, per CNN. 

McEnany also didn't mince words when it came to Trump's initial bid for the White House, reasoning simply, "Donald Trump has shown himself to be a showman, I don't think he is a serious candidate." Just a few years later, she was serving as the twice-elected president's fourth (and final) press secretary. The irony wasn't lost on anyone, and those who had been paying attention remembered that, once upon a time, she actually had some nice things to say about Trump's rival, Former President Joe Biden. 

"I think the Republicans run into a problem if it is Joe Biden and if it is maybe a Trump on the other side," McEnany argued during an interview with AM970 ahead of the 2016 presidential elections (via The Wrap). "Because Joe Biden, one of the things he is remarkable at is really kind of being a man of the people and resonating with middle-class voters. [...] His gaffes — as much as we make fun of them — to a certain extent they make him look human." Of course, she later changed her tune, but this is hardly the strangest thing people seem happy to ignore about the former press secretary.

While the January 6 Capitol riots were in full swing, Kayleigh McEnany was having lunch. When questioned by the January 6 committee, the former press secretary claimed that she had no idea what was going on until footage of the riots began playing on Fox News. According to the former CNN host, she didn't knowingly behave ignorantly, clarifying, "I in no way, shape, or form would eat a turkey sandwich if I thought Capitol Hill was being sieged," (via YouTube). And yet, McEnany didn't exactly advocate for Donald Trump to peacefully concede power to Joe Biden either, parroting the controversial politician's assertion that the election had been stolen while speaking to reporters.

"This president has always said he will engage in a peaceful transfer of the power if the facts bear out that way," McEnany told Fox News in November 2020 when she was asked whether Trump was willing to concede peacefully (via The Wrap). The "facts" McEnany cited referred to Trump's unwavering belief that there were votes out there that hadn't been counted that would give him back the power he desperately sought. Several investigations have since proven that no voter fraud took place and Biden won fair and square. 

And yet McEnany, much like her former boss, appeared pretty determined to ignore reality. "The president believes — and so too do many others — that if every legal vote is counted, he will remain president. He is pursuing litigation. But this president always wants what's in the best interest of the country," she added. The outspoken Republican landed a job at Fox News following her White House stint, with the network (unsurprisingly) more than happy to overlook her poor judgment. 

After Joe Biden emerged victorious in the 2020 presidential election, his announcement that he'd appointed a communications team made up entirely of women made headlines. In an incident many seem to long have forgotten, Kayleigh McEnany sprinted to X, formerly known as Twitter, to complain that The Washington Post's report pushed the fake news narrative that Donald Trump's communications team wasn't made up entirely of women. "President @realDonaldTrump already has an ALL FEMALE Senior White House Press Team. So does @VP... So does @FLOTUS... So does @SecondLady... The completely DISCREDITED @washingtonpost once again reveals their blinding propagandist Fake News proclivities," McEnany raged. Unfortunately for the former press secretary, her claims were laughably easy to disprove.

Executive producer at MSNBC Kyle Griffin posed a very valid question in response: "Did Kayleigh just erase Judd Deere?" He was, of course, referring to the then-White House deputy press secretary, whom, one can argue, she probably should have remembered was male before taking to X to defend Trump. Another user chimed in, "Somebody should tell @JuddPDeere45 and @BMorgenstern45 that they suck at being women." 

Anti-Trump Republican George Conway cemented the facts by posting screenshots of all of the men's X profiles who worked on the White House communications team, pointing out, "This is just such a weird and pointless thing to lie about." Unsurprisingly, McEnany never formally had to answer for the blatant lie she tried to sell to the Trump base nor did MAGA fans seem to care that she'd been tweeting falsities.

Fox News doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to impartiality, so perhaps it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the network, and its viewers, were only too happy to ignore the fact that Kayleigh McEnany, who landed a job there after Donald Trump lost in 2020, had been caught in a lie numerous times during her time as White House press secretary. While making a speech at a conservative event in 2021 McEnany recalled being asked during her first briefing, "Will you ever lie to us?" She continued, "I said without hesitation, 'No', and I never did, as a woman of faith" (via The Guardian). 

The former CNN anchor always fact-checked her information before presenting it to the public (McEnany's tweet about Trump's supposedly all-female communications team apparently doesn't count) and prepared accordingly, "But that will never stop the press from calling you a liar." However, it's worth noting that McEnany was called out for being untruthful on her first day as press secretary by outlets like CNN when she managed to flub quotes from the FBI regarding Trump's former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, who landed himself in hot water for not disclosing his Russian contacts to the bureau. 

She added words to the original statement from the FBI to make their investigation appear more like a witch hunt, which the justice department found wasn't the case. Hilariously, McEnany managed to further discredit her supposed integrity when she released her book, "For Such a Time as This: My Faith Journey through the White House and Beyond," which peddled even more falsities that can easily be disproved through a quick Google search.

Kayleigh McEnany might not be the most truthful person on the planet, but she's loyal to a fault. The former White House press secretary has remained an avid advocate for President Donald Trump even after he publicly humiliated her with one of his sordid nicknames. Perhaps McEnany simply has a very thick skin, or, possibly, she didn't realize it was an insult. It all started when the Fox News host was relaying poll numbers to viewers and Trump took to Truth Social to argue that they were inaccurate. "Kayleigh 'Milktoast' McEnany just gave out the wrong poll numbers on Fox News," the divisive politician wrote (via The Independent). "FoxNews should only use REAL Stars." 

One comforting fact: Trump embarrassed himself as much as McEnany during this rant, since the president clearly meant to give McEnany the nickname "milquetoast," which Merriam Webster defines as a term used to refer to a person who is "timid, meek, or unassertive." Milk toast, well, that's just a breakfast dish. While some Republicans rushed to McEnany's defense, she oddly didn't seem to need their comfort, instead continuing to fiercely champion her former boss. 

While criticizing California Representative Maxine Waters' warning that he was spoiling for a civil war, in March 2025, she defended the president on Fox News by arguing, "The only violence Trump expects is against himself at this point," (via X). In another fervent display of devotion, McEnany erroneously posited that Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk were actually hugely benevolent people who were focused solely on "the good of the country." Strangely, no one on Fox News asked McEnany why she was going to such great lengths to defend the honor of someone who publicly insulted her.