“White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany took aim at President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming all-female communications team on Sunday, tweeting that the Trump administration already employed a senior press team entirely composed of women — a claim which is of questionable veracity. In her tweet, McEnany highlighted an article by The Washington Post. The article noted that Biden had assembled a diverse communications group made up of women, led by former Obama-era staffers Kate Bedingfield, who will serve as the White House communications director, and Jen Psaki, who will be White House press secretary. McEnany wrote that Biden was getting undue credit and accused The Washington Post of “blinding propagandist Fake News proclivities.” 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 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/HpP0KL8kgD— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) November 30, 2020 McEnany’s claim that President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence employ an “ALL FEMALE” senior White House press team is misleading and depends on a fine distinction over what constitutes a “senior” official. McEnany appears to be conveniently ignoring men like deputy press secretaries Judd Deere and Brian Morgenstern, who report directly to her. Her claim that Vice President Pence’s communications team is all woman also ignores Devin O’Malley, Pence’s press secretary. In Biden’s incoming administration, both positions like McEnany’s and O’Malley’s as well as deputy press secretary roles would be filled entirely by women. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris today announced new members of the White House staff who will serve in senior communications roles. For the first time in history, these communications roles will be filled entirely by women.https://t.co/SjWAWJg941— Biden-Harris Presidential Transition (@Transition46) November 29, 2020 In a response fo McEnany’s tweet, George Conway, the husband of former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, shared screenshots of Deere, Morgenstern and O’Malley’s Twitter accounts — all of which prominently state their job titles — and said McEnany’s remarks were “weird and pointless.” This is just such a weird and pointless thing to lie about. https://t.co/nyKIAFAdC2 pic.twitter.com/C4MkayEZib— George Conway (@gtconway3d) November 30, 2020 It’s obviously several orders of magnitude not as bad as lying about electoral integrity, but still, why?— George Conway (@gtconway3d) November 30, 2020 Aaron Blake, who reports on politics for The Washington Post, also responded to McEnany’s statements in an editorial, arguing that while the Trump administration had certainly placed women in key positions, “three of the seven jobs Biden filled Sunday have men serving in the equivalent roles in the Trump White House. Call it ‘senior’ or anything else, the Biden White House’s communications team will feature significantly more women.” A number of other voices chimed in on Twitter to chide McEnany for her remarks, pointing out what Blake described as “thoroughly odd parsing by the White House — almost as if it is looking for things to complain about.” Did Kayleigh just erase Judd Deere?— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 30, 2020 Wonder how Judd Deere, who answers most calls to that office, and Morgenstern feel upon learning this https://t.co/9hhSWPNbnj— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 30, 2020 I feel sorry for @JuddPDeere45 @BMorgenstern45 and @JHoganGidley – I guess they don’t count as being part of the current communications team? 🤷🏼♀️ https://t.co/vZbbC0Knh7— Brittany Bailey (@BrittBaileyTV) November 30, 2020 Judd Deere is a man, many people are saying— RenoSparksCow (@RenoCow) November 30, 2020 You’re not a press team, Kayleigh. You’re a propaganda team. Big difference.— Generate (@GenerateHQ) November 30, 2020
