Trump was asked by reporters if he thought coronavirus media reporting was a hoax. He said that he thought it was and blamed CNN.
Trump said:
I think that media is, yes. I think that CNN is a very disreputable network. I think they’re doing everything they can to instill fear in people and I think it’s ridiculous and I think they’re very disreputable. And some of the Democrats are doing it the way it should be but some of them are trying to gain political favor by saying a lot about this.
The fact is, I made one decision that was a very important decision, and that was to close our country to a certain area of the world that was relatively heavily infected, and because of that we’re talking about 15 who seem to be all getting better, one is questionable. Had that decision not be made it could be a much different story. So some people are giving us credit… for that and some people aren’t. But the only ones that aren’t they don’t mean it, it’s political. It’s politics.”
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Video:
Trump stands by his completely false assertion that global concerns about the coronavirus, including those that have caused markets to crash, are a "hoax" and singles out CNN, falsely saying the outlet "is doing everything they can to instill fear in people." pic.twitter.com/L9YR8ImYMy
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) February 28, 2020
Unlike the Trump administration, the media is reporting the facts about the coronavirus. There is no national panic. People aren’t rushing to the supermarket and cleaning out store shelves.
The person who is in a panic is Donald Trump because he can’t stop the stock market slide. Trump is now resorting to one of his favorite tactics of attacking the media for reporting facts that he doesn’t like.
CNN’s reporting on the coronavirus has not been any different from any other outlet. The press is reporting on a serious situation, and the ongoing failure of this administration to mount a competent response.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
