White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has her work cut out for her, to say the least.
The fourth press secretary to serve in President Donald Trump's administration, McEnany came
to the podium just before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Although former press secretaries Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Stephanie Grisham both had jobs
in the White House before taking the gig, McEnany was a relative newcomer to the White
House. Despite her lack of experience, she has an impressive background that includes
a 2010 bachelor's degree from Georgetown University, as well as a 2016 graduate degree from Harvard
Law School, according to The New York Times.
Before we start diving into McEnany's estimated salary, let's examine what she was supposedly
like before launching her career.
McEnany's professor at Georgetown University, Peter Manseau, provided some compelling context
in an essay for The New Republic, which mainly discussed the press secretary's early ties
to evangelicasim and Christianity in politics. However, Manseau also shared a few anecdotes
about McEnany as a student, and it sounds like he has always been impressed by his young
student. He wrote:
"I haven't talked to Kayleigh McEnany since she was in my memoir-writing class at Georgetown
a dozen years ago. My first thought upon hearing in April that she had become President Trump's
new press secretary, shortly before her thirty-second birthday, was that it wasn't much of a surprise.
[...] [She was] noticeably more driven than many of her peers, she seemed bound for success
at the intersection of media and politics."
No matter how you might feel about McEnany, it sounds like she was set for success from
the beginning.
"That is absolutely true Mr. President!"
After graduating from Georgetown, but before continuing on to Harvard to complete her law
degree, Kayleigh McEnany worked as a producer on former ArkansasGovernor Mike Huckabee's
Fox News show. Although the news outlet had nothing but positive things to say about McEnany,
it wasn't putting her in front of the camera, which is what she supposedly wanted. Speaking
to The New York Times, Huckabee himself said:
"I think one of the reasons that Kayleigh went on to law school was because she didn't
see she was going to have an on-air opportunity at Fox anytime soon."
If Huckabee is right, then she has found the perfect job as President Donald Trump's press
secretary because she is regularly on-camera. So what does this perfectly suited job pay?
It's actually easy to find a ballpark amount because the U.S. government submits an annual
salary report for White House employees. The 2019 report stated Sarah Huckabee Sanders'
salary as $183,000, although McEnany might not be making that exact figure, as Sanders
also worked as an assistant to President Donald Trump.
However, it's probably a safe assumption that McEnany is making something very close to
this in her new role. Cha-ching!
Kayleigh McEnany also worked at CNN as a paid commentator before moving to Fox News. Interestingly,
during one segment for CNN, McEnany called then-Republican presidential candidate Donald
Trump out for racist remarks, a sentiment she has since come to regret.
"I proudly supported this President, who I believe is one of the best Presidents, if
not THE best President, this country will ever have."
In a May press briefing, she said:
"For about the first four weeks of the election, I was watching CNN, and I was naively believing
some of the headlines that I saw [...] I very quickly came around and supported the president."
Interestingly enough, when McEnany left CNN in 2017, she had positive things to say about
her time at the news network and claimed that she enjoyed her time there.
It's not clear how much a political commentator for CNN makes, although there is information
out there about the salaries of Fox News analysts. Per The Hollywood Reporter's 2019 review of
eight Fox News contributor salaries, the low was $31,336, and the high was $569,423. However,
we don't know if McEnany freelanced for CNN or worked at the news organization full-time,
or whether CNN's salaries are comparable to Fox News'.
As for McEnany's time producing former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's Fox News show, a
producer at the network averages an $88,132 salary, according to Glassdoor.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about people
in the news are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you
don't miss a single one.