Who is Kayleigh McEnany?
KAYLEIGH McEnany served as Donald Trump’s fourth press secretary when he was president of the United States.
Before her days in the White House, McEnany was a journalist with a law degree.
Who is Kayleigh McEnany?
Kayleigh McEnany, 34, was born on April 18, 1988, in Tampa, Florida.
McEnany received her education at a Catholic preparatory school in her hometown. Her father, Michael McEnany, and mother Leanne own a roofing company.
The married mother of two studied international politics at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington DC.
She also spent a year studying at St Edmund Hall, a college of Oxford University in England.
The high flier then moved to the University of Miami School of Law, before transferring to Harvard Law School in Massachusetts, receiving her JD degree in May 2017.
While in high school and college, McEnany interned for a number of politicians, including George W Bush, and also worked in the White House Office of Communications.
She had also volunteered with the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2004 while she was a high school sophomore, which landed her an internship with Bush.
McEnany is no stranger to the media.
On graduating, she joined the Mike Huckabee Show as a producer, and then left to pursue a career as a political commentator, appearing on CNN as a co-host on the panel show "The Point."
MOST READ IN NEWS
In 2014, she that if she didn't land a full-time role with a network after taking the Florida bar, she would like to work for "a large private firm or an organization like the Heritage Foundation or the Institute for Justice".
In 2017, after publicly supporting President Trump a number of times on CNN, McEnany was appointed national spokesperson for the Republican National Committee.
In 2018, the Tampa native released her first book, The New American Revolution: The Making of a Populist Movement.
The following year, she joined the Trump campaign as national press secretary, and toured with the campaign, attending rallies.
On April 7, 2020, McEnany, at 31 years of age, was named the new White House press secretary, replacing Stephanie Grisham.
What were some of McEnany's controversies in office?
In 2012, McEnany tweeted a reference to President Barack Obama's Kenyan heritage, something Trump often pointed to in an effort to make people believe Obama was not born in the US.
"How I Met Your Brother — Never mind, forgot he’s still in that hut in Kenya. #ObamaTVShows," McEnany posted.
In February, McEnany appeared on Fox to defend Trump, saying he would "always protect American citizens."
"We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism come here,"; she told host Trish Regan.
"And isn't that refreshing, when contrasting it with the awful presidency of President Obama?"
McEnany landed in headlines again for denying that Trump intentionally misled the American public about the severity of the coronavirus pandemic.
Veteran journalist Bob Woodward made the revelation in his book Rage, which was ripped by the president as "just another hit job."
"The president never downplayed the virus. The president expressed calm," McEnany told reporters during a contentious White House briefing less than an hour after early excerpts from Woodward's book were released.
When asked by a reporter if Trump lied to Americans about the threat of COVID-19, she said: "The president has never lied to the American public on COVID."
Trump later revealed that he actually did lie about the pandemic to "reduce panic" after a recording from Woodward revealed he knew the virus was "deadly stuff."
What was Kayleigh's role as former press secretary and where is she now?
In her tenure as press secretary, Stephanie Grisham held not one press briefing while in office.
All eyes turned to McEnany when she took over the role on April 7, 2020.
In March 2021, it was announced that McEnany would officially join Fox News as an on-air commentator.
She currently serves as a co-host of Outnumbered, which airs on weekdays at 12pm ET.
McEnany also makes frequent appearances on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show and other Network programs.
In May 2023, news outlets confirmed that McEnany would be taking over former Fox News political commentator Tucker Carlson’s 8 PM ET slot next week on Fox News Tonight for five days starting on May 8, 2023.
What is Kayleigh McEnany's net worth?
McEnany's net worth is estimated to be around $1million, according to .
The young Republican earned nearly $183,000 each year as one of the highest-paid White House staffers.
On June 16, 2022, McEnany announced that she was expecting her second child with her husband, Sean Gilmartin. On Monday, July 18, she announced on Fox News' Outnumbered that she was expecting a boy.
She appeared on the program with her husband as they announced the news.
In December 2022, she announced the birth of her son, Nash.
McEnany returned to Outnumbered on February 7, 2023, after a 3-month break.
The couple welcomed their first daughter, Blake Avery Gilmartin, 2, in November 2019.