Tag: Trump using COVID-19 briefings as replacements for rallies

Trump Airs Another Campaign Ad At Briefing, Produced By White House Staff

Donald Trump used time during his regular COVID-19 briefing on Monday to play a campaign ad for himself. Trump said that the video had been put together by White House staff — a possible violation of federal law regulating the election activities of federal employees.

Under fire for downplaying the coronavirus’ risk and doing little to prepare for the pandemic, Trump made reporters watch what was effectively a campaign ad. “We have a few clips that we’re just going to put up,” he said, before playing a video containing clips organized and edited to blame the media for minimizing the threat of the pandemic and tout Trump’s response.

After the video was over, ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl asked about its origins. Continue reading.

Trump uses coronavirus briefing to blast FBI agents as ‘human scum’ and ‘crooked people’ for investigating Russian ties to his 2016 campaign

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump has never been shy about holding grudges, and one grudge he continues to hold is against FBI agents who investigated Russian interference in the United States’ 2016 election. At a press briefing on Sunday, April 19, Trump denounced the FBI agents who were part of that investigation as “human scum.”

The investigation of ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and allies of the Russian government led to prosecutions of some of the president’s long-time allies, including veteran GOP operative Roger Stone and his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort (who is now in federal prison). When a reporter asked Trump if he planned to pardon either Stone or Manafort, the president responded, “You’ll find out what I’m going to do. I’m not going to say what I’m going to do, but I will tell you the whole thing turned out to be a scam —  and it turned out to be a disgrace to our country.”

When Trump told reporters, “Now, the tables are turned” and said it was time to “investigate the investigators,” he was referring to U.S. Attorney John Durham’s current investigation of the FBI’s Russia investigation. Durham launched that investigation when Attorney General William Barr, a Trump loyalist, asked him to do so. Continue reading.

Trump’s old friend Piers Morgan watches briefings ‘with mounting horror,’ urges president to stop ‘self-aggrandizing’

Washington Post logoPiers Morgan, the outspoken host of “Good Morning Britain,” issued a personal plea Sunday to his old friend, asking President Trump to stop “playing petty politics” with the coronavirus pandemic and to “stop making it about yourself.”

Appearing on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” with host Brian Stelter, the longtime Trump ally said he was watching the president’s daily coronavirus briefings “with mounting horror.” Trump, he said, couldn’t seem to stop blaming governors or attacking Democrats, and kept wasting time quarreling with reporters.

The whirlwind news conferences were becoming “almost like a rally to him — almost like what’s more important is winning the election in November,” Morgan said. Continue reading.

Wall Street Journal pens a condescending reply after Trump’s attack — and explains the actual reason his briefing ratings are so high

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump clearly loves the spectacle of holding daily coronavirus briefings during the course of the pandemic, even when he has no actual news to deliver, but many of his allies fear they’re doing more harm than good.

One dependable defender of the president, the Wall Street Journal editorial board, made a plea this week for the president to dial back the combative and boastful performances, inspiring a rebuke on Twitter from Trump himself. And on Friday, the Journal sent out another missive in the dispute dripping with condescension.

“Thanks for reading, sir, and we agree the briefings are an excellent way to communicate directly with Americans,” the board wrote in reply to his tweet, which defended the briefings by citing their ratings. Continue reading.

Wall Street Journal slams Trump’s ‘outbursts’ as he transforms daily briefings into campaign rallies

AlterNet logoThe conservative Wall Street Journal urged readers to tune out President Donald Trump’s daily coronavirus briefings.

The newspaper’s editorial board published a column Wednesday evening lamenting that Trump had turned those news conferences into an airing of grievances instead of useful updates on the public health crisis.

“The briefings began as a good idea to educate the pu blic about the dangers of the virus, how Americans should change their behavior, and what the government is doing to combat it,” the column began. “They showed seriousness of purpose, action to mobilize public and private resources, and a sense of optimism. Mr. Trump benefitted in the polls not because he was the center of attention but because he showed he had put together a team of experts working to overcome a national health crisis.” Continue reading.

Why are journalists skipping Trump’s daily coronavirus briefing? Not enough news to risk their health.

Washington Post logoThere have been a lot more empty seats at President Trump’s daily press briefings — but no, news organizations aren’t boycotting the events in protest or attempting to silence him, despite what he suggested at a briefing earlier this week.

Instead, something else is afoot: Reporters are keeping their distance because they are concerned about the health risks at a time when many consider the president’s evening news conferences to have become increasingly less newsworthy.

The decision by such outlets as The Washington Post, the New York Times and CNBC to stay away may be fundamentally changing the character of the briefings. With veteran White House reporters on the sidelines, the president has primarily engaged with TV journalists, including one from a small, far-right conservative news channel that rarely gets such a prominent stage. Continue reading.