Jake Tapper says he won’t interview McEnany because she ‘lies the way that most people breathe’

CNN’s Jake Tapper said Sunday he does not interview certain pro-Trump guests, including White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, because of what he called their propensity to lie in defense of the president.

During an interview with Brian Stelter on CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” Tapper said that unlike other Trump surrogates such as former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, McEnany “can’t acknowledge reality” and “tells lies all the time.”

“There are some people that are so mendacious, I just wouldn’t put them on air,” Tapper said. “Kayleigh McEnany, I never booked her. Jason Miller from the Trump campaign, I would never book him. These are just people who tell lies the way that most people breathe. There was no value in that.”

CNN Jake Tapper explains why he never booked Kayleigh McEnany for his show: “She lies the way that most people breathe.” pic.twitter.com/1FwDEthZef

— Anthony Tilghman (@AnthonyTilghman) December 27, 2020

McEnany, who in addition to serving as White House press secretary is also an adviser for the Trump campaign, responded on Twitter by calling the conversation between Tapper and Stelter “a therapy session for a broken network.”

“I do not lie. I do not leak,” McEnany tweeted.

This is a therapy session for a broken network, and @jaketapper is lazy enough to participate by lobbing baseless personal attacks, with ZERO evidence.

Jake’s real problem:

I do not leak.

I do not lie.

But I DO call out the lies of the media (i.e. CNN Russia collusion hoax!) https://t.co/Gz0RWbwhJZ

— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) December 27, 2020

McEnany has criticized CNN and its journalists in the past. Last month she clashed with CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins at a White House press briefing, referred to her as an “activist.”

McEnany has come under criticism for making false or misleading statements as a spokeswoman for the White House since taking on the role earlier this year. In May, during her first press conference, McEnany claimed the Russia investigation led by former special counsel Robert Mueller “totally exonerated” Trump, even though Mueller has testified that the probe did not clear Trump.