Kayleigh McEnany: a Tough Act to Follow

“However, after the departure of three spokespeople before her, it seems that President Trump has found his keeper—and the media their match—in a 32-year-old Harvard Law School graduate: Kayleigh McEnany.”

As compared to the Obama administration, the Trump administration has experienced a noted, tumultuous shift in leadership within the White House communications team, specifically in terms of presidential press secretaries. Whereas President Barack Obama committed to three press secretaries throughout his entire eight years in office, President Donald Trump has appointed four press secretaries in only his first term as commander-in-chief. In this unique situation where the only constant variable seems to be the element of change, one has to wonder what secret ingredients it takes to remain at the post of press secretary in the Trump administration. And this simple question begs the follow-up: Does the current press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, have what it takes—whatever “it” might be?

The job description of press secretary carries with it tremendous responsibilities. Then, there is also the fact that those who hold this position in the current administration must speak on behalf of President Trump and his sometimes capricious behavior. Sean Spicer, the first in the series, held the position of White House Press Secretary from the time of President Trump’s inauguration through to July of 2017, when President Trump accepted his resignation. What followed was the promotion of Sarah Huckabee Sanders from Spicer’s top deputy to press secretary. Sanders’ tenure as press secretary lasted nearly two years, before she announced her plans to return to Arkansas with her family. The timing of the decision marked a significant 94 days without Sanders appearing for a press briefing, where she was known to spar with White House reporters when defending President Trump. With Sanders’ return to Arkansas, Stephanie Grisham was appointed as President Trump’s third press secretary. Grisham held the second shortest stint, serving a mere nine months. Media platforms reveled in Grisham’s execution of the job as CNN jeered, “Stephanie Grisham was the White House press secretary in name only,” in an article entitled “How Stephanie Grisham made a mockery of the job of White House press secretary.” The news platform justified its sneers with the truthful claim that Grisham led not one press briefing during her tenure—arguably the most integral task for a press secretary.

The turbulent nature of President Trump’s communications team has attracted much scrutiny, with BBC News commenting, “The steady erosion of the role of press secretary is only a small but notable part,” echoing the unconventional presidency of President Trump as reason for blame. However, after the departure of three spokespeople before her, it seems that President Trump has found his keeper—and the media their match—in a 32-year-old Harvard Law School graduate: Kayleigh McEnany. She has since commanded news cycles with her press briefings. Prior to serving at the White House, McEnany had contributed to talk shows and debates airing on CNN and Fox News, before ultimately hopping the Trump train and securing the role of spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee. From there, McEnany found her place within President Trump’s re-election committee, which positioned her in the running for White House Press Secretary following Grisham’s departure.