Tucker Carlson, host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” poses for photos in a Fox News Channel studio, in New York, Thursday, March 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
One of the dumber aspects of the mainstream media’s response to the Wuhan virus is their pretending that they’ve been sounding the alarm from the beginning. As I noted last week, The Washington Post tried to essentially rewrite history by sharing anonymous leaks from the intelligence community claiming that the President hadn’t seen the virus as a threat early enough.
In reality, the Post and almost every other news outlet at the time were gnashing their teeth over Trump’s very early actions to limit travel and mobilize the CDC. Numerous op-eds, cable news hits, and hard news articles proclaimed those moves as an overreaction and a bucking of “the experts” at places like the World Health Organization (who would later show themselves to basically be a Chinese propaganda outfit).
Now, those same outlets want to make it seem as if they were at the forefront of this all along. Their latest tack is to blame Fox News for people supposedly not taking things seriously enough, soon enough. That’s nonsense and Tucker Carlson let them have it on his show last night.
The Press won’t blame China for the Coronavirus. So what was the press saying about the virus when it was still possible to contain it? Watch.https://t.co/oKya4kMjMh
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 24, 2020
If you can’t watch the video, here are some more examples to show the finger should be pointing out at Fox News, who in fact had hosts like Carlson sounding the alarm all the way back in January.
Okhttps://t.co/pNb277MJ0v pic.twitter.com/ztFIfp0bWY
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) March 24, 2020
this one? https://t.co/q37Q2NgylJ pic.twitter.com/RY5oUWesTU
— jerylbier (@JerylBier) March 24, 2020
The Daily Beasthttps://t.co/1Xeng749mC pic.twitter.com/dBsQD6gQvG
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) March 24, 2020
The truth is, all these outlets now trying to take the moral high ground were just as — if not more — guilty of downplaying the Wuhan virus early on. Almost in unison, they bashed the initial steps Trump took, pronounced the virus not a big issue, and instead focused on claims of “xenophobia” or simply impeachment coverage (remember, Democrats were still trying to remove the President while this outbreak flourished).
Those outlets don’t get to now turn around and trash Fox News as if they were oracles sharing great truths about the virus back in January. They weren’t. Many, many people were skeptical about the extent of the possible damage early on. That’s one of the aspects you see in any fluid, uncertain situation. Those trying to play “gotcha” now, especially those at outlets such as The Washington Post and CNN, are being incredibly hypocritical. They deserve every bit of ridicule Carlson throws at them in the above monologue.
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