Media

McEnany rips Tapper for cutting away from Trump’s Iowa victory speech

Kayleigh McEnany, national press secretary for former President Donald Trump. (Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany took a shot at CNN’s Jake Tapper for the network’s decision to not air former President Trump’s victory speech in full after this week’s Iowa caucuses.

Accusing CNN and other media outlets of a concerted effort to “censor this man,” McEnany, now a co-host of “Outnumbered” on Fox News, called out Tapper during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s program Tuesday.

“Jake Tapper. What a shameful moment from a so-called journalist, as you exposed him, he is not,” she said. “To cut off Donald Trump and say, ‘You can hear him under my voice saying anti-immigrant things.’ He was not! Let the people hear the man speak. The leader of the Republican Party.”

CNN cut away from Trump’s remarks Monday night after a few minutes, while MSNBC did not air the former president’s remarks at all. Fox and some other media outlets aired Trump’s speech in full.

Tapper, as the network cut away from Trump on Monday night, said “Here he is, right now, under my voice. You hear him repeating his anti-immigrant rhetoric.”

Trump attacked CNN and MSNBC during a speech Tuesday night for cutting away from his Monday remarks, suggesting they “should have their licenses or whatever they have,” taken away.

The former president has attacked his former press secretary in the past, last year dubbing her “Kayleigh ‘Milktoast’ McEnany” in a social media post after she had mentioned poll numbers on Fox favorable to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a rival of Trump’s in the 2024 GOP primary.

Updated at 12:23 p.m.