McEnany highlights personal story of preventative mastectomy (2024)

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany shared her personal story at the Republican convention of undergoing a preventative mastectomy as a testament to how President Donald Trump cares about preexisting conditions.

“On May 1, 2018, I followed in my mother’s footsteps, choosing to get a preventative mastectomy. I was scared. The night before I fought back tears, as I prepared to lose a piece of myself forever,” McEnany said. "But the next day, with my mom, dad, husband, and Jesus Christ by my side, I underwent a mastectomy, almost eliminating my chance of breast cancer— a decision I now celebrate.”

McEnany said that as she came out of anesthesia, “one of the first calls I received was from Ivanka Trump.”

Later, it was a call from President Trump.

“But now I know him well, and I can tell you that this president stands with Americans with preexisting conditions,” she continued.

“The same way President Trump has supported me, he supports you, she added. “I see it every day.”

Later, McEnany spoke about her nine month old baby, who she called a “miracle.”

“I want my daughter to grow up in President Donald J. Trump’s America,” McEnany said. "Choosing to have a preventative mastectomy was the hardest decision I ever had to make. But supporting President Trump, who will protect my daughter and our children’s future, was the easiest."

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Rep. Dan Crenshaw spoke on the third night of the Republican National Convention Wednesday and the Texas congressman opened with a story of sacrifice witnessed during his active duty in Afghanistan.

“Eight years ago, in the fields of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, a close of friend and teammate laid down cover fire against Taliban insurgents so that I could walk – blind and bloodied – to the Medevac helicopter and survive,” Crenshaw said. “But he didn’t. Dave was killed two months later. He died a hero to this great country. Here’s the truth about America: we are a country of heroes. I believe that, so should you.”

Crenshaw also spoke of the heroism he sees in everyday Americans in spite of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and civic unrest.

“It’s the nurse who volunteers for back to back shifts caring for Covid patients because she feels that’s her duty. It’s the parent who will re-learn algebra because there’s no way they’re letting their kid fall behind while schools are closed. It’s the cop that gets spit on one day and will save a child’s life the next,” Crenshaw said.

Crenshaw closed his remarks with a suggestion that the opposing side in many of the debates and protests currently gripping this country are less than heroic.

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President Donald Trump is going to Baltimore's Fort McHenry to attend Vice President Mike Pence’s speech to the Republican National Convention later this evening.

The White House pool has been called to gather for a presidential movement.

He may come off like a bully when insults women's looks or — as he did with the Democratic running mate — call them crazed, but a roster of female White House advisers hoped to convey a different side of President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Kayleigh McEnany, his fourth press secretary, recounted Trump's support when she became a new mom. Kellyanne Conway, the outgoing presidential counselor who also spoke Wednesday, has said her recent decision to leave the White House to focus on her family was made with Trump's full backing.

It's a side of Trump many of his aides have long insisted is there in private: the man who cares for his employees, gives women a boost in the workplace and generally is aware of the challenges they confront.

But it's one that is rarely evident in public. Recently, Trump has taken to addressing American "housewives" in tweets, a dated term that doesn't capture in full the scope of the female electorate — including the working women who are boosting him on Wednesday.

Trump's political advisers have watched with increasing concern as polls showed his support among women — and specifically White women — sliding. Trump has scrambled to make amends, including targeting women in his efforts to roll back anti-segregation rules.

But the President's aides have said privately he must do more. Women voters have rated him poorly on his handling of coronavirus and give him poor marks for his divisive behavior and rhetoric.

As the upper Midwest remains under duress following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, discussed the importance of law enforcement in the US, calling them "heroes."

Blackburn's perspective was inspired by her father, who served in the Army during WWII and who volunteered with the sheriff's department for 30 years after returning home, she said.

More on Wisconsin: A 17-year-old Illinois resident connected to an overnight shooting during a protest in Kenosha was taken into custody Wednesday morning, according to police in Antioch, Illinois.

Wisconsin authorities issued an arrest warrant charging Kyle Rittenhouse with first-degree intentional homicide, Antioch Police said. He is in the custody of the Lake County Judicial System pending an extradition hearing to transfer him from Illinois to Wisconsin. Antioch is located about 15 to 20 miles from Kenosha, just across the state border.

Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis confirmed that a 17-year-old Antioch resident has been charged in a shooting incident and said that the man "was involved in the use of firearms to resolve whatever conflict was in place."

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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem delivered the first speech at the Republican convention on Wednesday, focusing on the idea that America’s “founding principles are under attack.”

"This year, the choice for Americans is between a man who values these ideals and all that can be built because of them, and a man who isn’t guided by these ideals and coincidentally, has built nothing," Noem said.

Noem, the staunch ally who welcomed President Donald Trump to Mt. Rushmore for its first Fourth of July fireworks in years this summer, and reportedly produced a mock-up of the monument to include Trump’s face,appeared to compare Trump to Abraham Lincoln during her RNC speech.

Amid ongoing demonstrations in Wisconsin, turned deadly overnight, Noem sought to convey both an inclusive message about the party and one which blame Democrats for violence that’s transpired at anti-police brutality protests across the country this year.

“From Seattle and Portland to Washington and New York, Democrat-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs. The violence is rampant. There’s looting, chaos, destruction, and murder,” she said, later adding, “Our party respects individuals based on who they are. We don’t divide people based on their beliefs or their roots. We don’t shun people who think for themselves. We respect everyone equally under the Constitution and treat them as Martin Luther King, Jr. wished, according to the content of their character and not the color of their skin.”

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A crisis is brewing in the upper Midwest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A prayer for peace in the city opened Tuesday night’s Republican National Convention, but Trump has since sought to use the violence there to advance his “law and order” message, chastising the state’s governor before eventually saying he was sending in federal law enforcement.

The events in Kenosha provide an unsettling backdrop for Trump's convention – though the unrest does seem to fit into it's pro-law enforcement theme, which continue on Wednesday with scheduled speeches from a man whose wife was murdered and the president of the National Association of Police Organizations.

But they also lay bare the consequences of Trump's actions andprovide another stark reminder of how Trump has stoked racial divisions during his presidency. Two featured convention speakers on Monday, Mark and Patricia McCloskey,whowere filmed brandishing guns at a group of protesters who were walking along the neighborhood’s private street, en route to theSt. Louis mayor’s residence to advocate for policing reform.

How speakers -- particularly those representing the administration, including Vice President Mike Pence -- address the unrest in Wisconsin on Wednesday remains to be seen. The President's rival Joe Biden said Wednesday he'd spoken with Blake's family and said protests must be peaceful.A White House official told CNN’s Jim Acosta efforts have been made to connect Trump with the Blake’s family butthe Presidenthasn't specifically addressed Blake's shooting. TheWhite House released a statement broadly condemning violence on Wednesday:"President Trump condemns violence in all forms and believes we must protect all Americans from chaos and lawlessness," press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

At the beginning of the third night of the Republican National Convention, Rabbi Shubert Spero prayed for "divine protection overour brothers and sisters in thepath of storms along our GulfCoast."

Further in the prayer, Rabbi Spero praised constitutional rights such as the freedom of speech and expression as well as religious freedom. He also hailed President Trump for "hisdetermination to defend andmaintain the God-given rights ofour citizens as enshrined in ourConstitution and in ourdeclaration."

Here’s an excerpt from his prayer:

In a political closing to the prayer, he renewed Trump’s campaign call.

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Vice President Mike Pence isn't expected to address the unrest unfolding on the streets of Wisconsin during his speech at the Republican National Convention tonight, a source familiar with the address tells CNN.

This person said mention of Wisconsin had never been included in the draft, but a separate source said earlier Wednesday that Pence would reference it tonight. It's not clear what changed as events shifted dramatically throughout the day, but it is certain that the events in Kenosha will loom over the third night of the RNC.

Beyond tweeting about sending in law enforcement to Wisconsin, President Trump has not publicly commented on the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Aides have said he is waiting for more information. He has been briefed by the attorney general and aides have been in contact with the governor's office.

It's a familiar pattern in the Trump White House where Pence will delay commenting on a matter until the President has weighed in. That appears to be the case here in Fort McHenry tonight.