Kayleigh McEnany fumes over Trump audio tapes: 'The president has never lied to the American public on COVID'

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany this week sought to dismiss audio tapes of President Donald Trump admitting that he downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Wednesday's White House briefing, McEnany was asked about the audio recordings from veteran journalist Bob Woodward. In one session, Trump can be heard saying that he "wanted to always play it down."

"Did President Trump intentionally mislead the American people about the threat of COVID?" CBS correspondent Paul Reid asked McEnany.

"Absolutely not," the press secretary insisted. "This president, at a time when you're facing insurmountable challenges, it's important to express confidence."

"Is 'playing it down', is that expressing calm?" Reid pressed. "It seems dishonest."

"And he makes clear that he doesn't want to see chaos, by the way," McEnany snapped. "Which is the second part of the quote, which you failed to read."

Reid asked again if "the president lied to the American people about the threat of COVID."

"The president has never lied to the American public on COVID," McEnany said. "The president was expressing calm and his actions reflect that."

Watch the video below from Fox News.