McEnany speaks out against church closures amid protests
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says there is a double standard when thousands can take to the streets to protest but many churches across the country remain closed or still face coronavirus restrictions.
“There are absolutely double standards that we’ve seen,” McEnany said during her daily press briefing. “People should be allowed to worship. We have a First Amendment in this country. There’s a way to safely do it.”
McEnany said that President Donald Trump also sees the double standard. In May, Trump deemed churches as essential and threatened to override governors who did not immediately reopen places of worship.
“Here we are four weeks later and we haven’t been hearing about rampant outbreaks in places of worship,” said McEnany. “The First Amendment is a beautiful thing. People have the right to go to church or mosque or synagogue.”
California, New York and New Jersey are among some of the hardest-hit states by the coronavirus. All three states have seen thousands of protesters taking to the streets, refusing to practice social distancing while their churches can only open at 25 percent capacity.
Buzz Patterson, a congressional candidate from California also pointed out the double standard in regards to the protests.
“Why are our churches still closed? Why? In CA, weed shops, liquor stores, Costco, WalMart, and Target NEVER closed! If people can protest, riot, and buy weed, they can certainly go to church! Churches should’ve never been closed,” Patterson tweeted.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke out against leaders who cheer on protests but keep churches closed.
“I strongly & fully support Americans’ right to peacefully protest. But through no fault of the demonstrators, recent days have revealed glaring inconsistencies from some local leaders. While some mayors cheer mass protests, they continue to ban careful church gatherings.” McConnell said in a tweet.
Reporters brought up their concerns with coronavirus spikes following the recent protests. McEnany said that the White House was monitoring new cases but was overall pleased with the downward trend in daily cases. She said that in April, the U.S. saw an average of 30,000 daily new cases; 25,000 daily new cases in May, and was currently on track to see 20,000 new cases daily in June.
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