'Hey, Karen. Watch Your Mouth'

Chicago mayor hits back at White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 17, 2020 8:07 AM CDT
'Hey, Karen. Watch Your Mouth'
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a press briefing at the White House on Thursday.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"Hey, Karen. Watch your mouth." That was the message Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent to White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday, following McEnany's mention of Lightfoot during a press briefing. McEnany had referred to "the derelict mayor of Chicago" while speaking on gun violence, per the Chicago Tribune. McEnany was initially asked about President Trump's level of focus on the ongoing pandemic. "There are other things the president has to focus on: namely, Democrat cities not controlling their streets; namely, the mayor of Chicago—people dying … on the streets of her city every weekend," she said. Later, in response to a question about Trump's comment that "more white people are killed" by police than black people, McEnany again referred to Lightfoot.

"I've listed for you the names of these kids who have died across this country," McEnany said in part, referring to her mention the week before of six children killed by gun violence in Chicago. "It is unacceptable, and under this president, he'll take action," she continued. "And the derelict mayor of Chicago should step up and ask for federal help because she’s doing a very poor job at securing her streets." Lightfoot's response came in a Thursday tweet. Days earlier—after Trump compared Chicago to Afghanistan, per the Tribune—Lightfoot accused the president of not doing enough to stop the flow of illegal guns. "If the president was really committed to helping us deal with our violence, he would do some easy things" like endorse universal background checks and an assault weapons ban, she said. (More Kayleigh McEnany stories.)

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