Trump blasts media as anxious Americans come to grips with coronavirus
pandemic
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[March 21, 2020]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.
President Donald Trump on Friday capped a tumultuous week as Americans
faced sweeping life changes and massive Wall Street losses amid the
fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak by turning to a familiar playbook:
attacking the media.
In a contentious press briefing, the Republican president lashed out at
an NBC reporter who noted Trump's tendency to put an optimistic spin on
the situation and asked what his message was to the American people who
may be scared.
"I say that you're a terrible reporter. I think that is a nasty
question," Trump said.
Two of the nation's most populous states - California and New York -
have enacted their toughest restrictions yet affecting some 60 million
people, while federal authorities this week moved to close the borders
with Canada and Mexico. More than 200 people have died in the United
States and over 14,000 cases of the highly contagious respiratory
illness had been confirmed by Friday.
Trump and top administration officials for weeks downplayed the
outbreak, which began in China in December, before shifting their tone
about the severity of the health crisis more recently.
The president, who is running for re-election on Nov. 3, has long
sparred with the media, blasting coverage of him as "fake news" and
"hoaxes," and slamming news outlets and journalists on his Twitter feed.
His re-election campaign also recently filed lawsuits against several
outlets, including the New York Times and the Washington Post.
Yet the crises has propelled Trump recently to give briefings with news
outlets nearly every day in the White House briefing room, a place he
eschewed during his first three years in office.
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President Donald Trump takes questions during the coronavirus
response daily briefing as White House Coronavirus Response
Coordinator Ambassador Debbie Birx listens at the White House in
Washington, U.S., March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
On Friday, in a particularly unusual twist, Trump's first White
House press secretary, Sean Spicer, attended the briefing and asked
a question in his role working for Newsmax. Spicer repeatedly
sparred with reporters during his time as a spokesman early in
Trump's term.
During his recent engagements with the press, Trump has sought to
display unabashed optimism despite more sober comments from public
health officials, medical experts, state governors and others who
have sounded the coronavirus alarm.
One reporter on Thursday asked about the impact on the economy as
many businesses have had to dramatically shift operations or shut
down entirely during drastic measures to slow the spread of the
virus.
"Thanks for telling us. We appreciate it," Trump said. "What’s the
rest of your question? We know that. Everybody in the room knows
that."
Asked last week about his role regarding the disbanding of a
National Security Council pandemic preparedness team on his watch,
Trump told a PBS reporter: "That's a nasty question... When you say
me, I didn't do it."
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Alexandra Alper, and Jeff Mason;
writing by Susan Heavey; editing by Bill Berkrot)
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