President Donald J. Trump, joined by VP Mike Pence and members of the WH Coronavirus Task Force, listens to a reporter’s question at a coronavirus (COVID-19) update briefing, March 26, 2020, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. (Official WH Photo by Andrea Hanks)
Some things just never change, especially when it comes to the New York Times.
A little over a week ago, multiple NYT reporters got caught sharing a deceptively shortened version of comments President Trump made during a conference call with governors regarding the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
In that example, New York Times editor Mara Gay posted a tweet that made it sound like Trump told the governors and healthcare workers in their respective states that they were on their own when it came to obtaining the vital supplies and equipment they need to fight the Wuhan coronavirus:
Trump told governors this morning they are on their own:
“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Mr. Trump told the governors during the conference call, a recording of which was shared with The New York Times. https://t.co/K0sont7MBc— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) March 16, 2020
What she left out completely changed the entire context of the quote:
“We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself,” Trump said, as Dan Bongino and many others pointed out.
Though numerous people stepped up to correct the record on what was said, the altered quote was used by 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in a recent interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who did not correct him.
Unfortunately, the Times is still at it. Case in point, NYT White House correspondent Maggie Haberman, who posted this quote from Trump during Friday’s White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing:
“I want them to be appreciative,” the president says of governors who are criticizing the federal response.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 27, 2020
The quote made it sound like Trump was demanding the governors lavish praise on him over the job his administration has done in combating the virus.
Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for the NYT, also quoted Trump from the presser:
Trump on what he wants from governors: "I want them to be appreciative. We've done a great job."
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) March 27, 2020
The problem with their quotes is that they left off the part where Trump gave full credit to the team:
https://twitter.com/RobProvince/status/1243672621130096641
And guess what? That Anderson Cooper segment I mentioned earlier where Biden shared an altered quote from Trump call with the governors that Cooper didn’t correct him on? Cooper used the altered quote from Friday about governors and appreciation in that same interview, and Biden again ran with it:
CNN's Anderson Cooper and Joe Biden completely took President Trump's remarks out of context this evening.
They claimed he said that "governors should be appreciative," of him in the fight against the coronavirus.
That is not what @realDonaldTrump said.
ROLL THE TAPE. pic.twitter.com/c0qTaIWpBe
— Francis Brennan (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@FrancisBrennan) March 28, 2020
It’s almost if these news outlets and Democrats work in concert together, isn’t it? Nah, that would never happen … except when it has.
Trump got wind of what Haberman, a Pulitzer prize winner, did and called her out:
She is a third rate reporter who has nothing going. A Fake News “journalist”. https://t.co/SopsC7uMMf
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2020
Her excuse for cutting off the quote was pathetic:
Because in journalism, sometimes we paraphrase the rest. I said he was talking about criticism of the federal response, not him. The rest of the quote was about the federal response. https://t.co/wDbSR2KQg6
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 28, 2020
Bzzzt! Wrong. These are the types of things that can get a person’s Twitter account suspended or tweet deleted if they were a Republican or worked for Fox News or a conservative-leaning website. But because it’s New York Times writers we’re talking about here, and because Twitter also operates from a perspective of Orange Man Bad, they get a free pass.
This is yet just another on a long list of examples of the real reasons why a growing number of media outlets either are not carrying the press briefings or are cutting them short. They want to give you their version without the benefit of being able to roll the tape:
It’s always an interesting experiment to watch these task force press conferences live and compare it to the performative tweets on here from the usual grifters and hacks.
— Jimmy (@JimmyPrinceton) March 27, 2020
Any questions?
Related –>> Fed up Writer Cuts Through Media Bull to Explain Trump Admin’s Strategy to Combat the Wuhan Coronavirus
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