MSNBC Dumps Trump’s Briefing For Not Being Newsworthy

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MSNBC cut off Trump’s coronavirus briefing after the network determined that Trump’s comment contained no new or newsworthy information.

As Trump was talking, MSNBC’s Ari Melber said, “Let me tell you what we have. We are monitoring the briefing from the president. He is currently giving updates on the federal coronavirus response. There’s no medical experts there. And based on what we’ve heard thus far, we have not heard any information. We are not carrying this part of the presentation. If news breaks, we’ll bring it to you. If there’s a question, answer period where they’re able to question the president, which we’ve seen in the briefings, we’ll bring you that as well.”

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MSNBC did return to the briefing for some questions from reporters, but this is not 2016. Trump is not getting an uninterrupted free platform on non-Fox cable news.

Trump used the briefing to repeat virtually everything that he said in Tuesday’s briefing while trying to cherry-pick and paint a rosy picture of his administration’s response to the pandemic. Trump did shift from saying that he could prevent evictions with an executive order, to suggesting that he is looking at it, which is not the same position.

Trump also offered some manipulated data about the Arizona virus response and generally appeared to be living in a different universe from the rest of the country.

The briefings are not newsworthy. They are Trump reading the same talking points and false statements off of a piece of paper day after day.

Donald Trump has nothing to say about the pandemic because he is doing nothing to stop it. MSNBC saw through the ruse, which is why the cut away from his sham briefing.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Jason Easley

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