Trump's new press secretary Kayleigh McEnany vows 'not to lie from podium'

US President Donald Trump's new spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, on Friday vowed not to lie to reporters from the podium as she made her debut at the first White House briefing. "I will never lie to you," McEnany told reporters. "You have my word on that."

McEnany, who joined the White House last month, took the stage behind a podium that had quite literally been collecting cobwebs before the president began the practice of holding his own daily briefings because of the coronavirus.

McEnany said she spends most of the day with the president and is constantly with him, absorbing his thinking, news agency PTI reported. She said she saw it as her mission to bring the president's mindset to the media, deliver those facts so that the president gets fair and accurate reporting and "the American people get fair and accurate information".

During past administrations, a formal briefing by a White House press secretary would hardly be news. But it was the first such briefing since March 11, 2019, when Sarah Sanders took to the podium for the first time in more than a month and was pressed on comments Trump reportedly made at a fundraiser claiming that Democrats hated Jewish people.

Sanders left her post that summer, and her successor, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing during her entire nine-month tenure.

The briefings were must-see TV during the early days of the Trump administration, when viewers would tune in to see Trump's first press secretary, Sean Spicer, spar with the press.

But Trump, who sees himself as his best spokesman, communications director and strategist, came to the conclusion last year that the spectacle had diminishing returns, people close to him said at the time.

The White House has long made the case that the briefings are less important in the Trump administration because the president is so accessible, answering reporters' questions on an often-daily basis.

Trump had been holding his own daily briefings through much of the coronavirus pandemic, but scaled back this week amid concerns that he was doing himself political damage and as the White House tries to pivot toward a focus on reopening.

Spicer got off to a contentious early start with reporters when he used his first press briefing to falsely claim that Trump's inauguration had drawn the biggest crowd ever.

Sanders' briefings were also heated, and she drew criticism for her own false statements, despite once telling reporters, I don't think it's appropriate to lie from the podium or any other place."

McEnany took a more genial approach at her debut, calling on every reporter in the room at least once and avoiding personal attacks.

She grew more heated, though, as she brought up newly released documents related to former national security adviser Michael Flynn that she said should scare every American citizen."

Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI when questioned about his interactions with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

The new documents reveal that the FBI had been prepared to drop its investigation into Flynn weeks before the interview because of a lack of evidence.

And it included emails and handwritten notes, including one that read: What's our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? McEnany also deflected questions about the numerous sexual misconduct allegations leveled at Trump over the years after his likely Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, on Friday emphatically denied allegations from a former Senate staffer that he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s, declaring flatly this never happened.

The president has swiftly denied all of these allegations that were raised four years ago," McEnany said.

He has always told the truth on these issues. He's denied them immediately. Asked and answered in the form of the vote of the American people.

After McEnany's briefing ended, Spicer tweeted: Great debut. Ari Fleischer, press secretary for President George W. Bush, said substance and style are the key factors in being a presidential spokesperson.