It's absolutely despicable. We get bogged down with that bs and then the one reporter says "what do you think of the folks that say the numbers don't justify the measures taken to shut down the economy etc." that in and of itself can be construed as a sensational question, but it's a good question, and an important question many want to hear his take on. we're trying to find out when tests are coming, masks, vaccines, whether the govt will send out checks, get more aggressive in lockdowns etc., and at least four reporters interrupt him with this why are you being mean to a reporter that clearly is there to get a rise out of him. infuriating.
todays presser some reporter asked trump about his approval rating
- Thread starter kurt cloverdales
- Start date
True, and the Pres counters with “fake news” & “terrible journalist” as he continues his non stop lies. The American people want the truth and we aren’t getting it.
We would be better off if the Pres didn’t show up for these briefings and let the Dr’s give facts!
I don't agree with how that question was asked multiple times but the POTUS is the shallowest person in that room. And Trump is doing what he can to get soundbites as well and dodged several questions when pressed, even while reminding everyone he's an expert on everything.
Agree.....I think Trump trying to be the lead spokesman at these pressers needs to end soon. Pence and Dr. Velchi from now on and I these types of questions fade away.
The Pres is at fault and the reporters are at fault and we suffer as a presser that could be done in 20 minutes takes hours. At this point we'd be better off banning all of the reporters for live questioning: let them submit interrogatories and govt officials can stand at the podium and read the answers. it's devolved to one step above a springer show.
That's silly. There are solid reporters asking good questions and doing good work and there are moron reporters asking bad questions and doing bad work. There are effective government officials capably disseminating important information in a calm and rational manner and there are ineffective blowhard government officials bloviating inaccurate information and causing problems. Weed out the bad and keep the good.
Your solution is akin to saying that we should have no public briefings because Trump is an asshat.
This isn't some credible authority we're talking about. It's Trump. Nothing that comes out of his mouth is credible. He'll say whatever stupid thing he thinks will make him look best, then the real people in the know will have to come out and clean up his mess.
If Trump really cared about the public welfare he'd get the hell out of the way (and take Pence with him) and let the few adults left in Washington handle things.
There are moron reporters asking bad questions and then there are reporters asking questions designed to create soundbites and incite an argument. there's a difference. the latter know who they are and should be denied access if they continue that course. it's not only disruptive and completely distracting it's an obstacle to the dissemination of important information.
So the president is in no way accountable for his reaction today?
OK so how should the press cover a President who gaslights the country? I also think the press has done a terrible job covering this President. But I think so for a different reason than you do.
Listen, i'm no trump fan. he's an insecure, narcissistic, megalomaniac, with zero empathy - the worst character makeup you could envision to lead a country through a health crisis of this nature, but when you are standing at a podium to discuss a topic as important as this and you're berated with bullshit "hurt this reporter's feelings" questions i side with trump. there are a cadre of reporters that do nothing but try to get soundbites from him. and whether you voted for him or not, the guy's the elected president of the united states. intentionally trying to incite him serves no purpose whatsoever. trump shows far more restraint than i would with these people.
The press can cover him however they wish. Write article after disparaging article. That's fine. Within the context of a press conference designed to disseminate information during a national crisis it's not appropriate to try to incite soundbites predicated on "why are you being mean" to this reporter who isn't asking a real question but is only asking a question to start a fight.
when are we getting masks.
what's the status of vaccines.
when are we getting checks.
what's your take on buybacks.
what's going on with travel restrictions.
those are questions markedly different than the sensational questions being asked by the same offenders.
If we want to have a productive and inform presser then Trump shouldn’t be in the building. He lies. He. And calls. And he has no idea what he is talking about. Plus he tanks the market every damn time.
Of course that's true, but you know that isn't reality. 40% of the country want to hear their president. 40% of the country believe his words. i want to hear what he has to say. i'm capable of vetting what's bullshit and what's plausible. having reporters trying to incite him does nothing for anyone. in many ways it's an insult to all of us when they do that, as if they believe we're incapable of discernment.
"what message are you sending to the american public when you call a reporter a terrible reporter." this has no place in a press conference on the coronavirus and it was started by the reporters and their nonsense, not trump. and it was reframed repeatedly. anyway, it is what it is i guess as they say. i'm going back to my All or Nothing Brazil National Team on prime lol
Yup...those press conferences would be much more effective if we got rid of the bad parts of them. All of them.
So, is this why the reporters were asking the President why he was attacking reporters?
From this story, it appears that the questions came in the same press conference where he first attacked a reporter for asking the "terrible" question, "What do you say to Americans who are scared?"
He can't even answer that question? That's really the bare bones basics of his job at this point in time and he can't even answer that? And you want to attack reporters that stood up for their colleague who asked the softball of all softball questions to get this guy to actually act like a President for once? That's just silliness. Trump should have been thanking Alexander for giving him the easiest of all opportunities to show himself as a leader. Instead, he cratered once again.
So, if there are reporters actually causing problems with the briefings, by all means cull the herd. But, don't get rid of all reporters because our President can't do the very basics of his job. Get rid of the actual problem.
Yeah, I saw that live. Trump snapped. Lashed out. Went on about Concast and NBC and on and on.
Didn't see much after, but it doesn't surprise me he was taken to task afterwards. He had it coming.
I'm not a trump supporter and this clip isn't contextual as i remember it. I think he asked something prior to this that set trump off. and yes trump's easily set off. that said i think trump's dander rose prior to the clip you attached. i could be wrong and in this limited clip it does look like a reasonable question that trump went off on, but to watch the thing in its entirety gave a vastly different impression in my opinion that was echoed by Co Hoosier above.
Trump shouldn't be so easily trolled, but that said it shouldn't be the objective of reporters to troll him. troll him over facts. troll him over policy. troll him over whatever. but don't go there with the intent of trolling him over personal crap like "being mean to a reporter." you get a finite amount of time to garner information and our chosen few that get a seat in front of the president of the united states want to know what message it sends to the american people to go off on a reporter. who gives a shit.
Everything you're bitching about came after Trump showed his ass. Up to that point, things were relatively informative and civil. And the question that set him off wasn't out of line. Trump bears the responsibility for turning it into something less than informative and civil.
Really? He answers that question all the time.
One thing the authorities must do in a disaster situation is to not induce panic and associated disorder while providing relevant and useful information. Many have excoriated Trump for being too calm and optimistic in the beginning. Now he is asked to calm people who remain afraid in the face of all the objective and good information out there.
Bleah.
If you go to the Johns Hopkins page and put your curser on the date in the line graph he imposed the travel restrictions and formed the crisis response team you will see he took forceful action early-and he was even criticized for that! So what if he was reassuring afterwards? That didn’t slow down what government was trying to do. All levels of government had a lot of red tape to cut up, as at least two links posted here show. We’ve made a lot of progress.
I think a better answer would have been that “people who are scared should read and listen to the information out there”. I don’t think he was wrong in jumping on the reporter. Some of the press is absolutely awful. They don’t know how nor do they want to be otherwise.
Geez...now C-SPAN is part of #fakenews? I respect your posting, but forgive me if I take using COH as a source for views on a press conference.
Like I've repeatedly said...get rid of all the things inhibiting productive government briefings. That's easily as much on the President as it is on the specific reporters you've called out. There are productive and informative people in the executive branch providing valuable information. Let's put the focus on them by having the unproductive parts of the executive branch step out of the spotlight.
If that's the case, why is it such a "nasty question"? The obvious answer is that it's not. The problem here wasn't with the question. The problem is with the person incapable of answering it and doing the most basic aspects of his job.
If only you held the President up to the bare minimum of the standards who want to hold the press, it might be possible to take your claims seriously here. You demand more of the American people than you do of the man who pretends to lead them.
B.S. The three major US airlines had already announced they were curtailing China flights when he announced the ban on China travel.
"calm and optimistic"?! A lie is a lie, regardless of the liar's demeanor.
YOUR leader repeatedly LIED to the American people for no other reason than to protect his favorability rating. Had he cared about the general populace he would have been honest.
Imagine if a weatherman promised sunny skies when he knew damned well a category 5 hurricane was coming. Would you be defending that guy?!
Such a bullshit interpretation of Trump’s corona handling.
You calm the nation by telling them the truth and them telling them what we need to do. Trump did the exact opposite, he lied and then told us to do nothing.
Why? His motive is getting re-elected, not leading the nation. What a dufus. Leading the nation might have gotten him re-elected. How many opportunities to lead the nation has he squandered?
There’s a reason motive is so important in court cases...
If that's what it's going to take to disseminate useful information in a short period of time i'm in agreement.
Personal animus, on both sides, has created such a toxic environment that we can barely get through a briefing on a topic that should be wholly apolitical. that's why i'm thrilled to see bernie crap out. he would have been four more years of hostility - just the opposite side of the coin. biden, i think, would turn the heat down a bit - to the betterment of the country.
One perfect example. A reporter asked about whether using cruise ships as temporary housing was safe. That was a total bullshit question. I hold the White House press corps to a higher standard than most. There is all kinds of information out there showing that the virus doesn’t last long on surfaces and other materials. Now, she was either ignorant of that fact, or she was just playing gotcha with POTUS. Trumps answer was perfect. I think he should have taken that opportunity to lecture the reporter about being aware of the relevant published information.
It's transparent that much of the press isn't there to do anything other than try to catch him in "gotcha moments." some view it as a public service, a fleecing of sorts, but i think there's a time and place for it. today wasn't that time or place because it wasn't within the context of questioning facts or data or the veracity of anything, it was in the context of trying to start a fight - at least as to those reporters asking him what message it sends to the public when you berate a reporter or whatever she said.
You’re losing it. Corona is transmitted primarily by nebulized (coughed) air streams or by physical contact (hands). The problem with a cruise ship is not what you imply but the difficulty in social distancing.
CoH, serious question. Is your problem that deep down you feel compelled to justify having voted for Trump?
And you know he was being told differently in his briefings that it was all going to be fine.
The problem with cruise ships is people will not trust them right now. So if they want to use cruise ships, they need to allay people's fears. Questions about that are good, if Dr Fauci were given the platform to answer.
And that's why your prescriptions for the President are part of the problem instead of part of the solution. A good leader (which this President is not) would have asked why cruise ships would be unsafe, explained why they are safe, and highlighted why it is good policy. The fact that you see this as an opportunity to lecture people instead of inform them is why you're part of the problem.
I can only guess what is being said on the other side, but let us recall 2001. Bush did not tell reporters asking about the safety of flying that those were "nasty" questions. Part of the job of the president is to educatem. Some people are scared. That is a fact. Why do some people think reporters need to ignore that.
Where have you gone Bush 43, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you. In fact, until he invaded Iraq, 43 did an outstanding job.
