We have seen a lot more of Donald Trump during the coronavirus pandemic. The President, and his task force led by VP Mike Pence, have been holding daily press briefings to inform the public of what is being done to combat the coronavirus. The briefings have provided general updates with new numbers and what steps the federal government is taking to slow the spread.
These briefings have also included the President taking questions from the media on a daily basis. Press briefings have been rare to say the least during Trump’s presidency. Before February, it had been over 300 days since the last press briefing. There are many reasons (*cough* impeachment *cough*) why we haven’t had these.
Americans have taken advantage of the opportunity to see an unfiltered Trump speaking directly to the nation. The average audience for the press briefings is 8.5 million, which is roughly twice the average nightly viewership of Fox News’ Hannity and Tucker Carlson Tonight, the two most watched cable news shows.
These press briefings have not only been useful for everyday Americans, they have also been good for Trump’s popularity. His approval is now at a record high. According to certain polls, his approval rating for his handling of this pandemic is above 60%, which is higher than the approval rating for how the media have covered the pandemic.
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With Trump live and unfiltered, Americans can see everything without the media spin and editorializing. The mainstream media, which regularly uses selective editing to further an anti-Trump narrative, no longer have this luxury. The briefings have given the President an opportunity to rebut bad questions and takes from the media, while also showing much of America how the media uses “gotcha” questions to elicit a certain response from Trump.
Make sure to follow @alx on Twitter who provided me with the clips.
Without further adieu, here are President Trump’s top moments from the Chinese virus task force press briefings.
Using the term “Chinese Virus”
The Spanish Flu isn’t racist. The West Nile virus isn’t racist. Lyme Disease isn’t racist. But you know what is? Calling COVID-19 the Chinese Virus. It’s not because it’s actually racist (which it’s not), it’s because the media are in China’s pockets.
In the past two months, we’ve seen American media outlets such as NBC, Bloomberg, and others applaud China for their efforts to slow down the virus. We’ve seen the World Health Organization applaud them. We’ve even seen the United Nations appoint China to serve on the Human Rights Council! (uhhh, what?) This while China is the one responsible for letting the virus escape, and failing to report it’s number of cases and deaths, among plenty of other things.
“Gee, that’s too bad”
Just over a month after he voted to convict and remove the President from office, there was little pity shown on Senator Mitt Romney by President Trump. Sarcasm was clear, but a karma vibe was also felt. The two have butted heads for years since Romney was humiliated in 2012, so it’s nothing new to see. Talk about a new level of petty.
Cutie Pie
“Don’t be a cutie pie.” That was the President’s response when asked by a reporter if every American who contracts the virus will be able to have access to a ventilator. The question was a clear trap. Obviously, there’s no clue how many people will have the virus and even how many people who will have it will need a ventilator. The response was fantastic because he flipped complete control of the conversation into his hands. Nobody avoids these traps quite like Donald J. Trump.
Trump vs PBS “Journalist”
Yamiche Alcindor has been one of, if not the worst questioners during these press briefings. At almost every briefing, her questions almost always seem to be of the “gotcha” variety, and it appears the President got tired of it on Sunday. This was an obviously loaded question, and Trump did not let her get away with it.
If you’re active on Twitter, Yamiche and #weloveyamiche were trending Sunday night. Woke Twitter had an absolute circle jerk over who could praise her the most. Based on all of the ass kissing she got, you’d think she stormed the beaches at Normandy.
It was very revealing about how these lefty journalists see themselves and their peers: instead of providing valuable information to the country, they wanted to BE the story.
Trump vs CNN Reporter
The conversation become heated when Trump was asked was whether he had been ignoring or not calling governors of states who have been critical of him. This CNN reporter took a previous quote and ran with it, criticizing the President for having Pence or the head of FEMA call Governor Jay Inslee of Washington.
The highlight is at the end with the final exchange when the CNN reporter tries to respond to Trump calling them “fake news”. The President responds quickly saying, “yes you are.” and moves on to the next question.
Models
Before being elected, Donald Trump was well known for his participation in the Miss Universe pageants, as well as being married to a few different models. He tends to brag about his past successes in business, and with the ladies as he did on Friday. The haters can say what they want and complain all they want, but they’ll never be as classy as the Donald.
Also, this was an example of Trump trying to lighten the mood. If you’re outraged by this, might I suggest that you’re suffering from advanced Trump Derangement Syndrome.
The press briefings have been entertaining to watch and they should only get more enjoyable from here. Please stay safe and avoid going out into the public unless necessary. Make sure to also follow the White House’s 30 Day Guidelines to slow the spread of the virus.