CNN anchor Don Lemon let his frustration with White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany boil over on Tuesday night, calling out the former CNN commentator over her relentless attacks on the media while noting she was “happy to be” at the network back in the day.
During an increasingly rare White House press briefing on Tuesday, McEnany spent much of her time avoiding questions about President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede despite the Electoral College officially voting for President-elect Joe Biden on Monday. McEnany, who moonlights as a Trump campaign adviser, continuously referred to the campaign when pressed by White House reporters.
“The president is still involved in ongoing litigation related to the election,” McEnany said at one point. “Yesterday’s vote was one step in the constitutional process. I will refer you to the campaign for more on that.”
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At the end of her press conference, McEnany lectured the media for not devoting much time to the “Hunter Biden scandal” while accusing them of spreading biased coverage before leaving the podium. CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta, meanwhile, fired back as she walked off: “Isn’t it hypocritical of you to accuse others of disinformation when you spread it every day?”
At the top of his primetime broadcast, Lemon tore into the press secretary, accusing her of “acting like the election did not happen” and that she won’t soon be out of a job.
“Do you know she worked for — girl, bye,” Lemon exclaimed with a wave of his hand. “Girl, bye! Buh-bye.”
Referencing her lengthy stint as a paid CNN political contributor, the veteran anchor took issue with McEnany peddling “so much disinformation from the podium” while also criticizing the media over what stories it decides to cover.
“I think we got this,” he declared. “You used to sit here on the set with us. I think we got it.”
“When you sat here with us, you thought we had it. You were happy to be here but now we don’t know what we are doing? Girl, bye,” a clearly disgusted Lemon added.
In recent weeks, McEnany has taken pointed shots at her former employer as she has attempted to promote the president’s baseless voter fraud conspiracies and futile election lawsuits, repeatedly referring to CNN as “fake news” during her frequent Fox News appearances.
At the same time, multiple CNN personalities have taken issue with their former colleague's Trumpian anti-media tactics and penchant for lying. Just last month, after McEnany derisively labeled her an “activist” while waving off her question, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins snapped back with a sharp rebuttal.
“I’m not an activist and you haven’t taken questions since October 1st,” she shouted back as McEnany ran off. “And you just took about five, Kayleigh. That’s not doing your job. Your taxpayer-funded job!”
