Steve Benen on Maddowblog is aggravated with the latest body to occupy the position of White House Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany:
It was against this backdrop that White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, in just her second week on the job, declared on Twitter yesterday, “Under President [Donald Trump’s] leadership we have quickly developed the most expansive and accurate testing system in the world.”
That’s certainly one way to look at the current landscape. The other way is to notice that there is no such U.S. testing system. The Washington Post reported overnight, “There is no national testing strategy, but rather a patchwork of programs administered by states with limited federal guidance.”
It’s too bad she’s too cowardly to make such a statement in a press conference, like we used to have. Then she would have to acknowledge the simple question, Who told you that?
If she comes back with a name, then that person can be tracked down and interviewed.
If it’s “Well, this is my observation,” you tell her that she’s not qualified and will not be taken seriously.
By all reports, our testing system is not robust, and whether this is the fault of the private sector, of the CDC, of the White House, or for previous Congresses (for not providing funding), I don’t know. But we do need to work with honest facts, not politically convenient lies. Coming off the latter just leads to further delays, lives lost, and all that sort of thing.
Ya gotta wonder if anyone she knows is ashamed of her.
