White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Tuesday demanded the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) investigate Playboy reporter Brian Karem for shouting “misogynistic questions” at her.
Appearing on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday, McEnany claimed there was a double standard in how the women on the Trump White House communications team were treated compared to the new hires announced by President-elect Joe Biden.
“If you’re a female woman in the Republican Party who takes that podium, guess what your worry is? Having a Playboy reporter shout questions at you,” McEnany said. “It’s a double standard. It’s one that’s ridiculous. And one that the White House Correspondents’ Association should look into, when you have Playboy reporters shouting at women in a misogynistic manner simply because they’re a member of the GOP.”
McEnany did not specify what questions Karem has asked at briefings that she considered misogynistic. The Playboy reporter, a vocal Trump critic, has frequently shouted questions to McEnany as she leaves the White House briefing room.
“Lame. @realDonaldTrump failed 3 times in court to ban me. Speaking truth to power is not misogyny. You work for a misogynist,” Karem said in a tweet responding to McEnany’s comment. “Your briefings are propaganda. You failed the American people who pay your salary. You’re sore because you can’t answer questions honestly.”
The White House Press Office suspended Karem’s press pass last August after a heated argument in the Rose Garden with former White House aide Sebastian Gorka. After Karem sued over the suspension, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and an appeals court overturned the decision.