Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Kayleigh McEnany named as co-host of Fox News show ‘Outnumbered’

Former White House press secretary joined network as a contributor in early March

Oliver O'Connell
New York
Tuesday 30 March 2021 19:38 BST
Comments
Kayleigh McEnany takes swipe at successor Jen Psaki
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

After much speculation regarding a permanent role at the network, Fox News has named Kayleigh McEnany as a co-host of the panel show Outnumbered.

Donald Trump’s former White House press secretary will appear daily from 6 April alongside Harris Faulkner, the show’s founding anchor, and co-host Emily Compagno.

The three will be joined in each episode by a series of rotating panelists as per the show’s format.

“Kayleigh’s unique background in politics and law coupled with her experiences confronting women’s health challenges and life as a new mom will add robust insight to Outnumbered,” Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, said on Tuesday.

“We are delighted to welcome her back to Fox News where she began her media career.”

Read more:

Ms McEnany added: “I am thrilled to join the incredible women of Outnumbered and look forward to working alongside the talented Harris Faulkner and Emily Compagno as we discuss the top issues impacting the country.”

The former White House staffer joined the network as an on-air commentator earlier in March, providing opinions and analysis on shows including Fox & Friends, America Reports and The Five.

As press secretary, Ms McEnany famously vowed never to lie to the White House press corps but was frequently accused of doing just that.

Before her time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Ms McEnany was national press secretary for the Trump 2020 re-election campaign, and once served as the spokesperson for the Republican National Committee.

She began her career in politics as an intern for former Republican Florida representative Adam Putnam, and later, worked in the White House Office of Media Affairs during the George W Bush administration.

Ms McEnany’s media experience includes working as a political analyst for CNN during the 2016 presidential election across the network’s daytime and primetime programmes.

Her television career began as an intern for Fox News, where she later became a production assistant prior to attending law school, before taking an on-air role at CNN. She was also a contributor toThe Hill and wrote a column for Above the Law.

Ms McEnany’s recent appearances on the network have included swipes at current White House press secretary Jen Psaki, a segment in which it was claimed the Joe Biden wears a mask to hide his mental decline, and another in which she asserted that former president Trump finds his Twitter ban “freeing”.

At the beginning of March The Daily Beast reported disquiet among some staff at the network for the decision to bring Ms McEnany on board.

One inside described her as “mini-Goebbels” and decried the loss of hard-working journalists and decline in conservative news content in favour of “extremist propaganda”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in