ABC's Jon Karl tells The View about the shocking answer lost during latest briefing because Trump lashed out at reporters instead
ABC News White House correspondent Jonathan Karl appeared on "The View" Tuesday to talk about his arguments with President Donald Trump during a press briefing. What was lost during the argument with Trump, however, is that Dr. Anthony Fauci revealed horrifying information about our future.
Trump attacked Karl as a "third-rate reporter," and attacked a Fox News reporter. In previous attacks, Trump called Karl a "cutie pie" with a sarcastic sneer.
"Sometimes you get the sense that the president thinks every question should start with, 'Why are you doing such a great job, Mr. President?'" said Karl. "But look, this was a question about a brand new report from the Health and Human Services Inspector General that was based on a survey of more than 300 hospitals. So this wasn't the Inspector General giving out an opinion. This was a survey of hospitals and how they're handling the pandemic and what it found, among other things, is that there are long wait times to get test results back from laboratories."
He noted that the question first came from a Fox News reporter about why it was taking a week or more to get the results from the coronavirus tests. In the case of one White House reporter, it took them eight days to get the result and it was someone who was coming in close contact with the president.
Co-host Meghan McCain noted that she was "horrified" seeing the interactions between the press and Trump during the briefing. Even as a conservative, she noted she trusts Karl as a reporter to be fair.
"Maggie Haberman tweeted, as long as Trump is fighting with reporters he can attempt to shift the focus from where the government has lagged in its response," she continued. "Do you think maybe this is a sort of 'wag the dog' situation where it's easier to get in a fight with you than actually take responsibility for the horrible response to the virus?"
"It has happened with alarming consistency," Karl conceded. "He, at virtually every one of these briefings, there is a moment where he lashes out in very personal terms at a reporter," Karl recalled. He's done it to me now twice. He's done it to several of my colleagues. You know, I don't know if it's strategic or if he is just truly consumed with how he is perceived."
Karl said there may be something to it, noting that before Trump freaked out and started attacking reporters, he asked Dr. Fauci a question about how the country will return to normal.
"The answer was kind of lost in the shuffle but I think critically important," Karl said. "I asked him, 'until there is a vaccine which is not only created and tested but wildly available to everybody, can we truly get back to normal?' His answer was chilling. He said that we may never get fully back to the world that was pre-coronavirus. That threat will always be out there and we're never really going to be able to let our guard down until that vaccine is available to everybody. As you know, that's like a year and a half down the road."
Watch the full discussion below: