Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany claims ex-president Donald Trump is now actually “doing just fine” without social media.
Trump railed against and desperately tried to circumvent his bans from multiple social media platforms — which for years he used to spread conspiracy theories, amplify lies, sow division and attack enemies ― after he was booted for inciting the deadly US Capitol riot on January 6.
But McEnany, a newly-minted contributor for Fox News, on Friday told Fox Business’ Stuart Varney that Trump now finds it “kind of freeing.”
“He said it was kind of freeing not to have Twitter. He had a lot of time on his hands. So I think he’s doing just fine without social media,” she said.
Social media users were skeptical about McEnany’s claim, given her history of lying on behalf of Trump and the ex-president’s well-documented love for Twitter in particular.
Twitter permanently banned Trump from his favourite platform in the wake of the insurrection. Facebook’s oversight board is due soon to rule on the possible reinstatement of Trump’s account. YouTube said Thursday it will lift Trump’s suspension once the risk of offline violence has diminished.
McEnany, in an apparent contradiction to her earlier comments, then pivoted to the right-wing talking point of so-called “cancel culture.”
“What a travesty, this cancel culture, this root someone out of the public square,” she told Varney, saying the bans weren’t about stopping violence but “about stopping Trump.”