White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany called additional coronavirus guidelines released by some governors ahead of Thanksgiving “Orwellian” on Wednesday morning.
“A lot of the guidelines you’re seeing are Orwellian,” she stated when prompted by the Fox & Friends team. “The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has put out considerations as we prepare to go about Thanksgiving, about socially distancing, wearing masks, doing what you can.” (RELATED: As Coronavirus Cases Hit Record Highs, Here Are The Places That Are Locking Down Again)
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 09: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany during a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters on November 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump campaign and Republican Party officials continued to push theories of voter intimidation, fraud, and illegal votes but were unable to provide proof at the time of the press conference. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“They say ‘we’re not recommending a certain number of people, but we are giving considerations we think you should put in place,'” she continued. “The American people know how to protect their health. We’ve dealt with COVID for many months, but it’s Orwellian in a place like Oregon to say, ‘if you gather in numbers more than six, we might come to your house and arrest you, and you get 30 days of jail time.'”
“That’s not the American way,” McEnany claimed. “We don’t lose our freedom in this country. We make responsible health decisions as individuals.”
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Host Steve Doocy noted in a followup question that “a number of months ago the White House effectively said, ‘you know what? We’re going to give the power to the governors to decide what to do.'”
“These are determinations by the governors what is required on the ground in their states,” he continued. “So ultimately, didn’t the White House say do what you want to do?”
“Yeah, of course. It’s up to every state to do what they wanted to do, but there are consequences for those states,” she answered. “The American people, we are a freedom-loving people. We can wash our hands, wear masks, socially distance, but we can also decide in our own personal domicile, our own home whether we can have our family members present at any given time. That is the American way, that is freedom.”