Trump launches "real" Trump TV news with Kayleigh McEnany
A former CNN commentator is now being featured as the host of an mock-TV news report touting President Trump's successes in what is being dubbed "Trump TV" on his official campaign Facebook page.
A post on Mr. Trump's social media site reads, "Join Kayleigh McEnany as she provides you the news of the week from Trump Tower in New York!" The post went up on Sunday, just one day after McEnany left her role at the cable network.
In the minute and a half-long video, McEnany summarizes positive stories for Mr. Trump, including the positive economic data, the awarding of the Medal of Honor to a Vietnam war veteran, his endorsement of a Senate immigration bill named the RAISE act, which would limit the number of legal immigrants allowed into the U.S. primarily through the use of a points-based system.
McEnany announced, "President Trump has created more than 1 million new jobs," noted the low unemployment rate, high consumer confidence and surging stock market and concluded, "President Trump has clearly steered the economy back in the right direction."
As McEnany ends her segment, she signs out, "And that is the real news."
However, as the Washington Post pointed out, as far as jobs creation is concerned, Mr. Trump hasn't changed the direction of the economy -- under his predecessor, former President Obama, the last six months of his administration showed job creation at a slightly faster rate than the Trump administration.
It's the second of the network-news style segments featured on the Trump campaign's Facebook page, after Mr. Trump's daughter-in-law Lara had hosted the previous edition. Like McEnany, Lara Trump devoted the segment to applauding her father-in-law's accomplishments which she claims were not covered due to "so much fake news out there." The segments are not being posted on the White House Facebook page.
Some have attacked the Trump TV online newscasts -- the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul tweeted, "Wow. Feels eerily like so many state-owned channels I've watched in other countries."
But the positive-spin, week-in-review theme is hardly new in the realm of the digital-age presidency. The Obama White House released a video series dubbed "West Wing Week", narrated by former White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and was featured on the administration's social media sites. The Obama-era videos, however, focused primarily on the comings and goings within 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., not so much on dispelling "fake news" that the administration doesn't like.
While it's not clear if McEnany will be the regular host of the "real news" segments, which are being paid for by the Trump campaign, the former network commentator now has a new role at the Republican National Committee (RNC) as the party's spokesperson.
In a statement released by the RNC on Monday, the party called McEnany a "seasoned television commentator who brings years of communications and media relations experience to her new role."
"Kayleigh will be an integral part of our Party's ongoing commitment to promoting the Republican message to Americans across the country, said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
She added, "Her wealth of experience will be invaluable to the RNC as we continue to support President Trump and build on our majorities in Congress as we head into 2018."
McEnany said in a statement she was "Eager to talk about Republican ideas and values and have important discussions about issues affecting Americans across the country."
McEnany will also serve as the Republican party spokesperson on TV and radio.
