Ex-Trump aide McEnany knocks Biden: Presidents should not ‘inflame’ tensions

Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday that President Biden should not “inflame the tensions” by weighing in on the Derek Chauvin trial, Mediaite reported.

During an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, McEnany was asked by the to comment on Rep. Maxine Waters’s (D-Calif.) remarks regarding Minneapolis protesters, which led to Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson asking the judge for a mistrial.

“We heard Judge [Peter] Cahill go on to caution elected officials and say, I urge you not to weigh in, hours before or a half a day before the president himself weighs in,” McEnany said. 

“I think it’s the role of the president of the United States to stay back, to not inflame the tensions,” said Kayleigh McEnany… the press secretary for DONALD TRUMP. pic.twitter.com/ghUSeQHhtC

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) April 20, 2021

“I’m glad he at least waited until the jury was sequestered, but I think that the country is such a tinderbox right now, especially in Minneapolis. There’s so much hurt and pain, and I think it’s the role of the president of the United States to stay back, to not inflame the tensions,” she said. 

McEnany’s comments came after Biden earlier on Tuesday shared his opinion regarding Chauvin’s trial.

“I’m praying the verdict is the right verdict,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office. “Which is — I think it is overwhelming, in my view.”

McEnany applauded Biden for calling George Floyd’s family privately. She said Trump did the same thing. 

“But it’s such a tinderbox moment, and I think he should have just reserved comment and said he’s praying for the family, as we all are,” McEnany said.

As Trump’s press secretary, McEnany was frequently responsible for defending Trump’s often inflammatory remarks. In October, for instance, she defended Trump’s remarks on white supremacy during a debate moderated by Fox News’s Chris Wallace.

Pressed during the debate by then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden to condemn white supremacists, Trump told them to “stand back and stand by.”

“Somebody has got to do something about antifa and the left,” Trump continued. 

In a heated press conference later, McEnany sparred with reporters and insisted Trump had denounced white supremacists. The former president’s past rhetoric has been blamed for the deadly riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Following Biden’s comments on Tuesday, a jury found Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter.