Conservative Columnist Takes Blow Torch to Olivia Nuzzi's Gotcha Question at Trump Presser, Puts It in Context

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President Donald Trump speaks during an event celebrating American truckers, at the White House, Thursday, April 16, 2020, in Washington. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao stands at right. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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My RedState colleague Bonchie wrote earlier about the absolutely ridiculous gotcha question New York Magazine “journalist” Olivia Nuzzi asked President Trump at the end of his news conference Monday where he and other Wuhan coronavirus task force members provided updates on the government’s handling of the outbreak.

“If an American President loses more Americans over the course of 6 weeks than died in the entirety of the Vietnam War, does he deserve to be re-elected?” Nuzzi asked in dramatic fashion from the back of the press corps seating area, with a slight smirk on her face towards the end.

For those who haven’t seen the video clip of Nuzzi questioning Trump, and his measured, on-point answer, watch below:

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Liberals, of course, praised Nuzzi as “hero” for making the comparison, but the question was asinine for a lot of reasons, many of which Bonchie explained in his post. But Boston Globe conservative columnist Jeff Jacoby had another important take which I think perfectly puts into perspective the absolute absurdity of Nuzzi’s question:

Boom.

By the way, Olivia, that includes all the Democratic politicians who you have championed over the years, including disgraced former Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner and his failed 2013 mayoral campaign.

As Jacoby noted in his quote retweet, Nuzzi was unapologetic in the face of all the criticism she received, claiming it was not intended as a “gotcha” question and that she was “appreciative” that the president “took it seriously”, even though, she laughably claimed in another tweet that “he did not, obviously, answer it directly”:

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But when former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer called Nuzzi’s question out for what it was, here’s how the supposedly “respectable reporter” responded:

Fleischer, it would seem, got a little too close to the truth for Nuzzi’s comfort, proving the old adage that the truth really does hurt sometimes.

Related –>> Jim Acosta Receives Unwelcome Suggestions After Tweet on WH Discussing ‘Making Better Use of Press Briefings’

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