White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday defended President Donald Trump after he said that a noose found in a Black NASCAR driver’s garage was a “hoax.”
In a tweet on Monday, the president blasted NASCAR and driver Bubba Wallace over a controversy about a noose that was found in his garage. The FBI eventually determined that the noose was not a “hate crime” directed at Wallace.
Trump also criticized NASCAR’s decision to ban the Confederate flag.
Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX? That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 6, 2020
Fox News host Sandra Smith told McEnany on Monday that there is no evidence that the noose found in Wallace’s garage was a “hoax.”
“This was never determined to be a hoax,” Smith explained. “Is it helpful for the president to bring that back up considering that this is something obviously that the federal investigation weighed in on. He’s done many interviews since then, but to determine it a hoax in a new tweet.”
McEnany responded by calling the noose a “pull rope.”
“They also said definitively as the FBI investigation determined that there was no hate crime versus Bubba committed,” she continued. “What the president is making is a broader point that this rush to judgement on the facts, before the facts are out is not acceptable.”
Smith interrupted: “That comparison is not fair. To call this a hoax when he stands by that he truly believes that [a noose is] what it was.”
“Right, the Federal Bureau of Investigation does not stand by that assessment,” McEnany opined. “The president is merely pointing out that we’ve got to let facts come out before we rush to judgements. And there was no hate crime committed against Bubba Wallace.”
McEnany also blasted the movement to take down Confederate statues.
“This is absolute insanity,” she complained. “America is the greatest country on Earth. This nation, and the bedrock of freedom, put in place by the Constitution and our Declaration of Independence has done more for the world and the advancement of human history than any country on planet Earth.”
“This is a good country,” McEnany added, “a country to be proud of and the president will never apologize for what makes America great.”
