Reid demanded: “How is this newsreel or this rant supposed to make people feel confident in an unprecedented crisis?” It’s so disgraceful the way you say that.” Trump talked over her: “You’re so disgraceful. Tens of thousands of Americans are dead.” Right now, nearly 20m people are unemployed. “The argument is that you bought yourself some time,” she said “You didn’t use it to prepare hospitals. The CBS News correspondent Paula Reid was having none of it and cut to the chase. Over and over, Trump highlighted his decision to ban some flights from China in late January before there were any virus-related deaths confirmed in the US – even though nearly 400,000 people travelled to the US from China before the restrictions were in place and 40,000 people have arrived there since. Trump replied: “Because we’re getting fake news and I like to have it corrected. Jon Karl of ABC News asked in consternation: “Why did you feel the need to do that?” “We could give you hundreds of clips like that.” It had been put together in a couple of hours by Dan Scavino, the director of social media at the White House, and a team in less than two hours, Trump explained. Veteran White House reporters said they could never remember such a film being played in that room. Families grieving loved ones lost to the virus were in for cold comfort here.Ī CNN chyron is a worth a thousand words: “Trump refuses to acknowledge any mistakes” “Trump uses task force briefing to try and rewrite history on coronavirus response” “Trump melts down in angry response to reports he ignored virus warnings” “Angry Trump turns briefing into propaganda session”.Ġ4:14 The coronavirus 'propaganda' video Trump played to media
Instead it was a new and bloody phase of his war against the “enemy of the people”: the media. He arrived in the west wing briefing room determined to tell the world, or at least his base, that he was not to blame. With more than 23,000 American lives lost in such circumstances, some presidents might now be considering resignation. Trump’s Easter had evidently been ruined by a damning 5,500-word New York Times investigation showing that Trump squandered precious time in January and February as numerous government figures were sounding the alarm about the coronavirus.
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