Kayleigh McEnany, former White House press secretary under President Donald Trump, spoke to a packed room of over 300 attendees at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in an event sponsored by CFACT last week.
At one point, however, the event was very much up in the air.
Initially, there was strong opposition by leftists on campus at UCF to McEnany being invited. There was intense debate and a contentious meeting of the Student Government Senate over whether the event should be partially funded by the university. CFACT hosted the event in connection with Turning Point USA (TPUSA) on campus, and TPUSA club officers stood firm at the Senate meeting in support of McEnany being invited. Jesse Wooten, club president and a CFACT Driessen Fellow, led the charge to get the event approved and fight against censorship of conservative views on campus.
Thanks to the students’ hard work and commitment, the event was finally approved by the Student Government Senate and allowed to go on.
McEnany discussed her role in the Trump Administration and students’ passion for politics, among other subjects, saying, “I know all of you in this room have a passion for politics or you wouldn’t be here. I was prepared for the moment when the president of the United States asked me what I would say to questions because of my burning passion for politics.”
McEnany went on to address questions from students regarding Biden’s climate and energy policies. Specifically, she criticized Biden for reentering the terrible Paris Climate Accord that President Trump had wisely removed the United States from.
As reported in NSM Today, a UCF student paper, many student attendees had positive reactions to the event:
“‘I love seeing raw reactions of students when they ask questions,’ said Burrows, a freshmen business major. ‘A lot has changed in the past few years, and I know students are curious to hear what Kayleigh thinks.'”
“Christian McKenna, a senior finance major, said he attended the event because of his interest in politics and American history. McKenna said listening to McEnany talk about her personal history with Trump made both figures more relatable.
“‘The normalcy of her job and what she does every single day I think is just awesome,’ McKenna said. ‘She represents the United States of America.'”
To read the full story in NSM Today, click here.