Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Criticizing ‘Cancel’ Culture, Claims ‘PAW Patrol’ Was Dropped, But It Wasn’t

Ted Johnson
·4 min read

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Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany was finishing up her briefing with reporters on Friday when she criticized so-called “cancel” culture, citing decisions to drop shows like Cops and Live PD in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd.

She also included on the list PAW Patrol, the popular cartoon franchise that has aired on Nickelodeon since 2013.

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McEnany said that President Donald Trump “is also appalled by cancel culture, and cancel culture specifically as it pertains to cops. We saw a few weeks ago that PAW Patrol, a cartoon show about cops, was canceled. The show Cops was canceled. Live PD was canceled. Lego halted the sales of their Lego City police station.”

She added, “It is really unfortunate, because I stand with, the president stands with, the 53% of Americans who believe police officers have the most important jobs in this country.”

A spokesperson for Nickelodeon, which airs the show, told Deadline that the show has not been canceled. The show later tweeted, “No need to worry. PAW Patrol is not canceled.”

Last month, there were Internet rumors that the show was being canceled. But those appear to have been started after a series of satirical social media posts, according to Snopes.com.

The satire started after the show posted a message to its social media account in June.

“In solidarity of #amplifymelanatedvoices we will be muting our content until June 7th to give access for Black voices to be heard so we can continue to listen and further our learning. #amplifyblackvoices.”

The show was renewed by Nickelodeon earlier this year.

Last month, other networks did decide to cancel reality shows that told stories from the point of view of police. Paramount Network dropped Cops and A&E canceled Live PD, in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd. That spared a national conversation about systemic racism.

Lego did not discontinue sales of cop-themed toys, but it did stop some marketing efforts in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.

In the aftermath, Trump has leaned in heavily on the theme of law and order, whether it be through the sending of Department of Homeland Security troops to Portland, the site of a current wave of protests, or attacking the left for “cancel” culture.

During the briefing, McEnany ran clips of protests in Portland, in which demonstrators were shown destroying property, attacking law enforcement and pulling down statues and fences. “I hope someone kills your whole … family,” one demonstrator tells officers in riot gear. “As you can see that is anything but a peaceful protest, and this president will always stand on the side of law and order,” McEnany said.

Just after McEnany played video of the Portland protests, Fox News abruptly cut away. “We were not expecting that video and our management here at Fox News has decided that we will pull away from that at this time,” anchor Harris Faulkner said. She later said that they were not told that the video would air “with some things on screen we might of wanted a heads up about.” The footage included a statue that had been toppled and had the words “F— Cops.”

McEnany also defended Trump’s stance to retain the naming of Confederate generals at U.S. military bases. Jon Decker of Fox News Radio asked her a question about how that would affect recruitment of African Americans to the military.

“The bases are not known for the generals they are named after. The bases are known for the heroes within it,” she said.

The Senate, in a 86-14 vote, on Thursday approved a defense appropriations bill that calls for renaming the bases. Trump tweeted earlier in the day on Friday that he spoke to Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), who “has informed me that he WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places from which we won two World Wars (and more!). Like me, Jim is not a believer in ‘Cancel Culture.'”

 

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