Kayleigh McEnany appears in pro-Trump 'news' video after leaving CNN

Kayleigh McEnany appears in Pro-Trump 'newscast' after leaving CNN
Kayleigh McEnany appears in Pro-Trump 'newscast' after leaving CNN

Former CNN commentator Kayleigh McEnany is now hosting campaign-style videos for President Trump's Facebook page.

Her first video, released on Sunday, cited several pieces of really positive news and credited Trump with the successes. McEnany called it "the real news."

The promotional segments are the latest way "Team Trump" is trying to forge direct connections with fans through social media.

It is unclear if the effort is being funded by Trump's re-election campaign or by the Republican National Committee. It does not appear to be government-funded.

Sunday's video came out one day after McEnany announced her exit from CNN.

McEnany, a pro-Trump pundit who appeared on CNN throughout the campaign season, announced via Twitter Saturday that she was leaving the network for a "new role." She said to "stay tuned" for details.

McEnany was not dropped by CNN, according to a source with knowledge of her exit. Rather, she asked to be let out of her CNN contract in order to take on the new role.

Then, on Sunday morning, the official Twitter handle for "Team Trump" and Trump's verified Facebook page both posted a video of McEnany laying out "the news of the week."

In the video, McEnany touted Friday's employment report. "President Trump has clearly steered the economy back in the right direction," she said.

Related: Trump launches 'real news' Facebook series to combat mainstream media

The segment appeared to be part of a video series launched by the Trump team a week ago. The first installment was hosted by Lara Trump, wife of President Trump's son Eric. It was touted as "real news," following a longstanding claim by Trump and his supporters that mainstream news outlets deliver "fake news."

The clips have a format reminiscent of traditional news networks: The host appears on a screen in front of a graphic background. In this case, that background is a smattering of Trump, Trump/Pence and DonaldJTrump.com logos.

Elected officials using websites and social media platforms to promote their achievements is standard procedure these days, but the "real news" series appears to go further, seeking to discredit the mainstream media and advertising what purports to be a reliable alternative.

McEnany did not immediately respond to questions about her appearance on the "Team Trump" segment Sunday.

Some social media commentators dismissed her video as propaganda.

"Wow. Feels eerily like so many state-owned channels I've watched in other countries," tweeted Michael McFaul, who was the U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Obama.

"This is what Trump wants the news to be like. Unfettered propaganda, Soviet-style," surmised Mathieu von Rohr, an editor at Der Spiegel in Germany.

But if those reactions were predictable, so were some of the praise-filled reactions on Trump's Facebook feed.

"It is sad but necessary to have to broadcast President Trump's achievements in this manner," one commenter said while lambasting the news media for perceived bias.

Speaking on CNN's "Reliable Sources," longtime political analyst Jeff Greenfield said he thought McEnany's video was just part of a "long tradition, if not entirely noble tradition, of political campaign propaganda."

--CNNMoney's Dylan Byers contributed to this report.

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