McEnany: Media should find some 'internal coherence' in questions about Trump rally

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany took issue today with the double standard she sees in hostile media coverage of the president's upcoming rally in Tulsa, Okla., as compared with the predominantly favorable coverage of the hundreds of protests seen across the country in the past several weeks.

The president's spokesperson fielded a long line of questioning from CNN's Jim Acosta about the safety measures being taken at President Trump's upcoming rally. McEnany explained that the campaign has ensured that temperature checks, hand sanitizer, and masks will all be available for those choosing to attend the event, and CDC guidelines will be recommended but not required.

She went on to display yesterday's cover of the New York Post, which slams the media and Democratic commentators for hypocrisy in picking and choosing which non-socially distanced public gatherings should be supported and which should be condemned. 

"The media seems to not be interested in health so much as the ideology behind certain events," said McEnany. She then encouraged the press to apply a standard of "internal coherence" to their coverage of the issue.

Acosta then said that the protesters were showing up for an important cause, which is not the case at political rallies for the president, to which McEnany responded, "We do rally in support of something."

Asked for the president's thoughts on the House Democrats' police reform bill, due to be approved by the Judiciary Committee this afternoon, McEnany said that several elements of the bill are "non-starters" for the president, including the weakening of qualified immunity for police officers.

McEnany also said the bill "undermines due process" by allowing the public access to the potential misdeeds of police officers prior to the proper adjudication of the issue. 

She affirmed the White House's complete support for South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott's police reform bill, and emphasized that the president prefers concrete action from his administration and caucus over the "meaningless symbolism" offered by congressional Democrats.  

The president's plan as outlined in an executive order he signed this week leads toward equal "access to opportunity," said McEnany. She also quoted her colleague Ja'Ron Smith, who said of President Trump's executive order, "A lot of people want to make this about race, but it's about communities and individuals."

The president's executive order would provide incentives for police departments to:

• ban chokeholds, except in instances of lethal force being used against an officer;
• pair qualified social workers and mental health professionals with officers out on calls when necessary;
• create a national database to keep track of officers who have been accused of using excessive force.