President Donald Trump attacked a Wall Street Journal editorial Thursday saying that the daily briefings with the president are a complete waste of time.
"A friend of ours who voted for President Trump sent us a note recently saying that she had stopped watching the daily White House briefings of the coronavirus task force. Why? Because they have become less about defeating the virus and more about the many feuds of Donald J. Trump," the Journal wrote Thursday.
"The briefings began as a good idea to educate the public about the dangers of the virus, how Americans should change their behavior, and what the government is doing to combat it," the editorial continued. "They showed seriousness of purpose, action to mobilize public and private resources, and a sense of optimism. Mr. Trump benefitted in the polls not because he was the center of attention but because he showed he had put together a team of experts working to overcome a national health crisis."
The president responded to it by attacking the Journal and noted that they clearly failed to mention how high his ratings are.
"The Wall Street Journal always 'forgets' to mention that the ratings for the White House Press Briefings are 'through the roof' (Monday Night Football, Bachelor Finale, according to @nytimes) & is only way for me to escape the Fake News & get my views across. WSJ is Fake News!" Trump tweeted.
Among the typical run-of-the-mill responses telling the president to resign and calling him a fool were those who noted that the president basically just proved the Journal's point. Others pressured Trump to have the reverence to understand that while he is focusing on ratings, people are dying.
See some of the tweets below:
“I’m getting good rstings therefore it’s praiseworthy” is in fact confirmation of what the WSJ wrote about how potu… https://t.co/D62v8a16F3— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1586462197.0
@realDonaldTrump @nytimes "WSJ is Fake News" because they didn't credit your coronavirus rally briefings for having… https://t.co/3PEmoZAOnZ— Chidi®️ (@Chidi®️) 1586462033.0
@realDonaldTrump @nytimes The “ratings” are high because everyone is trapped at home and there are many people who… https://t.co/1J0vYTX3op— Swing State Hustle Michael (@Swing State Hustle Michael) 1586461760.0
Here is the message. "My news briefings about a global pandemic, a messed up economy, are ratings gold mines! And… https://t.co/QR0PjKYd8r— Mark M (@Mark M) 1586462173.0
The Murdoch-owned WSJ -- more specifically, the far-right editorial board of the Murdoch-owned WSJ -- is now "Fake… https://t.co/ztsM7sLHvL— Jay Bookman (@Jay Bookman) 1586461687.0
NYT over WSJ. What is happening? (Also, his fixation on rating is fucking nuts) https://t.co/EbLN0ZsDXX— Craig Newman (@Craig Newman) 1586460963.0
Trump's response to the scathing @WSJ editorial shows how right the editorial is. Trump touts his "through the roof… https://t.co/h5zKl8WpLD— Frida Ghitis (@Frida Ghitis) 1586462660.0
For a second I was worried Trump was going to take the WSJ's advice on briefings and his approval rating would star… https://t.co/VIVPNybnIC— Black lives matter. (@Black lives matter.) 1586461645.0
Bragging about the ratings is just proving WSJ's point. #MAGA— CrazyLettuce86 😷🏳️🌈🥗🐝🐬🌷🍕❄️🍁🎄🎅🏻 (@CrazyLettuce86 😷🏳️🌈🥗🐝🐬🌷🍕❄️🍁🎄🎅🏻) 1586462646.0
@realDonaldTrump @nytimes 16, 191 Americans dead 94,786 dead worldwide 16.6 million Americans file for unemployment… https://t.co/UbUjLZknpc— cumberickman NOT A DR BUT DR JILL BIDEN IS (@cumberickman NOT A DR BUT DR JILL BIDEN IS) 1586462858.0
Trump press briefings are just plain bullshit. Kudos to WSJ for calling this out. People are dying but thank God… https://t.co/BBYzsxvEIH— Bill Bauernfeind (@Bill Bauernfeind) 1586463717.0
