‘It’s … a failure of their duty to the American people, that some media outlets would choose to block their audiences from receiving accurate, up-to-date information…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) A public radio station in Washington state announced it will no longer be airing President Donald Trump’s press briefings on the coronavirus pandemic “due to a pattern of false or misleading information provided that cannot be fact checked in real time.”
However, we will not be airing the briefings live due to a pattern of false or misleading information provided that cannot be fact checked in real time. (2)
— KUOW Public Radio (@KUOW) March 24, 2020
Trump and other members of his Coronavirus Task Force have held briefings almost every day to update the country on the spread of the coronavirus and what the federal government is doing to contain it.
The radio station, KUOW, did not give a specific reason explaining why it believes Trump is spreading misinformation, but other Democrats have criticized the president for appearing to contradict his health officials.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pushed back on claims that Trump ignores the advice of his officials, while admitting that the president “has a very unique style.”
But Fauci said he was encouraged by Trump’s overall reception to his advice. “Every time I’ve asked him to do something—cut out China travel, or go to the mitigation guidelines—he’s ultimately listened to what I’ve said,” Fauci explained.
Trump’s handling of the coronavirus has been met with a favorable public response, with a majority of Americans saying they approve of the way his administration has tackled the virus.
This bump in the polls could be why KUOW wants to stop its audience from seeing Trump in action, according to White House spokesperson Judd Deere.
“It’s not surprising, but also a failure of their duty to the American people, that some media outlets would choose to block their audiences from receiving accurate, up-to-date information on President Trump’s whole-of-government approach to slowing the spread of COVID-19,” Deere told The Hill.
“No other Administration has been as transparent and as accessible as this one, and we will continue to make sure this Nation hears from its leaders and top health experts during this global pandemic,” he added.
Other major left-wing media outlets have since joined in the uproar by attempting to invalidate Trump’s statements and justify refusing to air them. But the backlash seems clear as the media’s own handling of the coronavirus crisis has led to plummeting approval ratings, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Every single entity polled is above water on trust, by significant margins.
Except one.
Our condescending, hectoring, blinkered, self-appointed arbiters of truth are underwater by double digits: pic.twitter.com/A8PHq01U95
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 26, 2020