White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany wasn’t always an unrelenting critic of Joe Biden. In a 2015 interview, she said the then-vice president was “a man of the people and resonating with middle-class voters.”
Years before becoming a Donald Trump supporter, McEnany not only called him “hateful,” “racist” and said that it was “unfortunate” and “inauthentic” to call him a Republican, but she also praised the man who stands in the way of another four years of him as president.
In August 2015, before Biden decided to enter the presidential race, McEnany said during an interview on local New York radio station AM970 that Republicans might find it challenging if the popular former VP ended up being the Democratic nominee opposite Trump.
“I think the Republicans run into a problem if it is Joe Biden and if it is maybe a Trump on the other side,” McEnany said. “Because Joe Biden, one of the things he is remarkable at is really kind of being a man of the people and resonating with middle-class voters. Feeling like — coming off as human. His gaffes — as much as we make fun of them — to a certain extent they make him look human. So not, since he’s likable.”
On the flip side, McEnany thought Hillary Clinton – Trump’s eventual challenger – would be a much easier candidate for the GOP.
“If Trump is against Joe, I think the juxtaposition of kind of the man of the people and kind of this tycoon, is a problem,” she said. “Although Donald Trump’s remarkably coming off as a man of the people despite being this wealthy business tycoon.”
Biden was on many people’s minds as a possible Democratic presidential contender in 2016, including McEnany, who predicted earlier that week on Fox Business Network that Biden would be the nominee.
“When you have Joe Biden here, who’s funny and likable and can resonate with the middle class, he really can speak to the average, everyday American, versus Hillary Clinton who’s cold and somber,” she said. “Remember when she had to — that calculated move of drinking a drink at a bar to seem like a human being. Joe Biden is a human and people will resonate with that. I predict he will be the nominee.”
As it turned out, the May death of his son Beau from a brain tumor at 46 was an emotion drain on Biden and his family, and he decided against a run.
Now, as White House spokesperson, McEnany has reversed course. Responding to CNN’s request for comment about her 2015 assessment of Biden, McEnany said that she has since become aware of what she calls his “profound personal corruption,” adding that he had become “an empty vessel for the liberal elites and far-left.”
You can listen to the entire interview below.