Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the current holder of that job is out of the loop.
In an interview Thursday on Fox News Channel, Ms. McEnany said Jen Psaki’s oft-repeated answer that she would “circle back” to answer reporters’ questions was not something she herself had to say because she knew what her president thought.
“I wish Jen Psaki all the best, it is a very hard job,” Ms. McEnany told “Fox and Friends.”
“That being said, we took great pains in our administration to do hours and hours of research beforehand, days sometimes,” she said.
Ms. McEnany said she could talk to Mr. Trump any time if she had questions and implied that it seems like Ms. Psaki cannot.
“I always knew where my boss stood. Unlike other press secretaries who maybe didn’t have walk-in privileges, I could walk in at any time,” she said. “I always knew where his head was at, so I didn’t have to do a ton of circling back because President Trump gave a lot of access to me.”
Ms. McEnany was critical of President Biden and access on another front — his lack of public appearances and press conferences.
Mr. Biden has occasionally answered shouted reporter questions after events, but has not held a solo press conference for more than six weeks, a record for modern presidents.
“It’s exactly like the campaign. That was his strategy all along,” said Ms. McEnany, who became a Fox News analyst this week. “Hide in the basement, don’t talk to the American people.”
She contrasted that with Mr. Biden’s voluble predecessor.
“That’s what President Trump offered. He gave transparency. He was always willing to take questions, always willing to go to the podium, always willing to stop on his way to the helicopter,” Ms. McEnany said. “Transparency is what he offered, and Joe Biden vowed transparency. Now he’s set a 100-year record for not going to the podium.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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