Governors are issuing "Orwellian" warnings over holding large family Thanksgiving gatherings while COVID-19 numbers are spiraling nationwide, as "the American people know how to protect their health," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday.
"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," McEnany said on Fox News' "Fox and Friends."
"That's not the American way. We don't lose our freedom in this country. We make responsible health decisions as individuals ... we can wash our hands, wear masks, socially distance, but we can also decide in our own home whether we can have our family members present at any given time. That is the American way. That is freedom."
The Centers for Disease Control has issued guidelines about social distancing, wearing masks, and more to follow when preparing for Thanksgiving gatherings, and is not recommending limiting the numbers of people in a home, she added.
McEnany also praised President Donald Trump's efforts in respect to COVID-19, as there are now vaccines that will be ready "in record time." She also insisted that the nation's emergency stockpile was "was left empty" by the Obama administration, but Trump has "filled it up since then."
"He's left an infrastructure in place where COVID can be handled," said McEnany. "We believe we will do so going forward in a second Trump administration."
She also slammed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over his criticisms about the vaccines and distribution plans.
"Cuomo is a very jealous executive," she said. "We saw a tremendous amount of pain and loss in that state. This vaccine is possible because of Trump-style ingenuity. Back on Jan. 13, when this novel virus came to our shores, President Trump had already partnered with Moderna, one of the successful vaccines. What were Democrats doing? They were trying to impeach the president over a baseless Ukraine phone call. What was Andrew Cuomo doing? Who knew?"