TRUMP LETS RIP
Trump blasts ‘terrible’ NBC reporter who asked what he would tell ‘scared Americans’ in coronavirus crisis
PRESIDENT Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked him to calm scared Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
When asked by NBC News reporter Peter Alexander what he would tell scared Americans during this time of crisis, the president called him a "terrible reporter" and said it was a "nasty question."
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"You are a bad reporter, I would say to focus on reporting and not sensationalism," Trump retorted before bashing NBC and Comcast.
Alexander rehashed the exchange on Twitter after the press conference, noting that he gave both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence an opportunity to reassure the American public.
"I offered both Pres Trump and VP Pence an opportunity to reassure Americans," he tweeted.
"Simple question: "What do you say to Americans who are scared?"
"Trump, to me: "I say, you're a terrible reporter."
"Pence, an hour later: "Don't be afraid. Be vigilant.""
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The testy exchange happened Friday during a White House coronavirus task force briefing, in which Trump appeared to minimize the escalating panic among the American public.
He focused on his optimism about possible drug treatments for COVID-19 - despite one of his government scientists claiming that not all were proven.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Trump's director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at Friday's daily briefing that any evidence about drug therapies currently being tested was purely "anecdotal" and not a "definitive statement."
Nevertheless, Trump said he felt "good" about the treatments and noted that the government already ordered "millions of units" of them.
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Several Twitter users slammed Trump for his attack on Alexander, with some calling the president "childish" and an "embarrassment" and others defending the reporter for asking necessary questions.
"@realDonaldTrump No one likes or trusts a child to try and handle an adult crisis," wrote one user.
"You took all your frustrations on not being able to hold cult rallies or to go to your infected Mar-a-Lago on Peter Alexander. You owe him an apology."
"Trump is a daily embarrassment," said another.
"Peter Alexander will have his day - soon."
"What is wrong with Trump? My God!," said Karen Ann Ormes.
"As an American like Peter Alexander, I want assurances that actual progress is being made," wrote Arden Scott.
"Instead of assurance, this POTUS attacks the one who asks the question for all of us - one who has just suffered the type of loss all of us fear," Scott said, referring to the recent report of an .
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Alexander also pressed the president on his claims, asking whether his "positive spin" on the potential treatments was simply giving Americans false hope.
"Is it possible that your impulse to put a positive spin on things may be giving Americans a false sense of hope?" the reporter asked.
"No I don't think so," Trump replied.
"I feel good about it. That's all it is, a feeling."
Later in the news conference, the president used a question from another reporter as leverage for another attack on Alexander.
"I've dealt with Peter for a long time, and I think Peter is not a good journalist," Trump said.
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Top doc blasts Trump & says they are 'NO proven safe coronavirus drugs'
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