For most of the Trump presidency, many media critics have contended that news networks should stop airing the White House’s daily press conferences—when they happen at all—going so far as to maintain that reporters should stop attending them altogether. These arguments only grew louder when Donald Trump began holding a near-daily, fully shameless coronavirus briefing this past spring, on account of the fact that the administration, particularly the president and everyone who’s ever served as his press secretary, lies about everything all the time. “President Trump is using his daily briefings as a substitute for the campaign rallies that have been forced into extinction by the spread of the novel coronavirus,” Washington Post columnist Margaret Sullivan wrote in March. “These White House sessions—ostensibly meant to give the public critical and truthful information about this frightening crisis—are in fact working against that end. Rather, they have become a daily stage for Trump to play his greatest hits to captive audience members.” Or, as a White House reporter put it to my colleague Joe Pompeo, “They are a clown show.” Unfortunately the clown show has persisted, with Thursday’s demonstrating what a complete and total farce they are.
In addition to claiming that the president’s call for his supporters to break the law and vote twice in the November election was actually all about making sure votes are properly tabulated, refusing to blame Russia for poisoning a Putin foe despite “unequivocal proof” from Germany that he was poisoned, and claiming that no one at the FDA is pressuring anyone to rush out a vaccine even though the election-eve target is well before one can safely be distributed, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany opened Thursday’s briefing by announcing that she would be playing, on loop, footage of Nancy Pelosi getting a haircut at a San Francisco salon that was closed to the public.
Referencing the fact that Pelosi was supportive of California’s lockdown to slow the spread of a deadly virus, McEnany told the group assembled, “Apparently, the rules do not apply to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She wants small businesses to stay shut down but only reopen for her convenience.” She added, as only a member of the most hypocritical White House in modern history can: “‘Do as I say, not as I do,’ says Nancy Pelosi.”
According to Pelosi, she did not breach local rules for salons, and was “set up” by the salon, and was allegedly told her they were able to accommodate people one at a time. (The owner, who admitted to releasing footage of the House Speaker getting her hair done, claims this is untrue.) Regardless, Pelosi said she took “responsibility” for the screwup, and was criticized by members of her own party for making such a stupid, unforced error. Which it was! It’s also no where near as bad or deadly as the behavior of Trump and his supporters in the Republican Party, though you wouldn’t know that based on the press conference.
Naturally, at no time did McEnany mention that Trump ignored numerous briefings telling him how bad the virus was, or that he played it down to the public despite knowing it was lethal, or that he is still holding giant rallies where few supporters wear masks and at least one attendee has died, or that his administration, at this moment, is reportedly considering implementing a plan that could kill 2 million Americans. But, hey, Pelosi got a haircut when she shouldn’t have. Stone her!
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