White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany heavily criticized the new COVID-19 restrictions being implemented in some states as cases of coronavirus are increasing and Thanksgiving celebrations are next week.
In some states, governors are putting a limit on the number of people residents can have in their homes for the holiday season. In Pennsylvania, masks have been ordered to be worn in residents' homes if they have people visiting.
In Los Angeles County, a curfew order has been put in place that will take effect on Friday, ordering all "non-essential" businesses to be closed by 10:00 pm.
Here are some more specifics about how this will all work: pic.twitter.com/qtahkqaLfO
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) November 18, 2020
"I think a lot of the guidelines you’re seeing are Orwellian. Let me start by saying the CDC has put out considerations as we prepare to go about Thanksgiving, about socially distancing, wearing masks, doing what you can. And there’s a whole list of very good considerations, and in that, they say we’re not recommending a certain number of people, but we are giving considerations that you should put in place," McEnany said.
"And I think that’s the American way. The American people know how to protect their health. We’ve dealt with Covid for many months but it’s Orwellian in a place like Oregon to say if you gather in numbers more than six, we might come to your house and arrest you, and you get 30 days of jail time? That’s not the American way. We don’t lose our freedom in this country. We make responsible health decisions as individuals," she continued.
"You know, nobody likes to have anybody tell people what they can and cannot do inside their houses, but it was a number of months ago that the White House effectively said, you know what? We’re going to give the power to the governors to decide what to do. These are determinations by the governors, what is required on the ground in their states. So ultimately, didn’t the White House say do what you want to do?" "Fox & Friends" co-host Steve Doocy asked.
"Yeah, of course. It’s up to every state to do what they wanted to do, but there are consequences for those states. In New York you’ve seen just this morning, I think Brian noted hundreds of thousands of people who have moved out of the city," McEnany replied. "So the American people are a freedom-loving people. We can make good decisions. We can wash our hands, wear masks, socially distance, but we can also decide in our own personal domicile, our own home whether we can have our family members present at any given time. That is the American way, that is freedom."