The disrespect relayed by the media for the President during the COVID crisis has been appalling to say the least.
Typically, Jim Acosta of CNN steals the show with his loaded questions and rude demeanor.
Paula Reid of CBS, however, has recently taken the cake for her display of disdain toward the commander-in-chief.
While she began the exchange with a question, she went on with a degrading speech insuating President Trump was personally responsible for millions of unemployed Americans and tens of thousands of COVID deaths.
The Guardian has the latest details on the exchange:
Yesterday, the CBS reporter Paula Reid was determined to ask him about it at a White House press conference. “How do you close down the greatest economy in the history of the world when, on January 17, you have no cases [of Covid-19 in the US] and no deaths?” he replied. “On January 21, you have one case and no deaths. Think of that, we’re supposed to close down the country?”
In the exchange, the president highlights his decision to close US borders to China, and suggests that Democrats, in particular Joe Biden, accused him of xenophobia at the time.
But Reid was not convinced. “The argument is that you bought yourself some time. But what did you do with that time? You didn’t use it to prepare hospitals, you didn’t use it to ramp up testing. Right now, nearly 20 million are unemployed, tens of thousands of Americans are dead,” says Reid.
Reid’s impolite manner did not catch much sympathy on Twitter. Take a look at some of the reactions:
Some are now questioning the format of the COVID press briefings, specifically citing the improper questioning coming from many reporters. Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary and Fox News contributor, went on Fox News today and detailed the issues he sees with the way the press briefings are currently conducted. He even went so far as to admonish Reid for her "out-of-bounds" questioning of the President.
Fox News details Fleischer's appearance:
Former White House press secretary and Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer told "Outnumbered" Tuesday that one big change must be made to White House coronavirus task force briefings following Monday's testy exchanges between the president and members of the White House press corps.
Fleischer told co-hosts Melissa Francis and Harris Faulkner and Fox News contributors Dr. Nicole Saphier and Jessica Tarlov that reporters "advocating against the president" during the briefings lead to "barroom brawls" which waste America's time.
"Let me start with the reporter because I think the reporter was out-of-bounds," said Fleischer of CBS News reporter Paula Reid, who challenged President Trump on what the federal government did in February to prevent the spread of the virus, leading to heated crosstalk.
"It's a perfectly legitimate question to say to the president, 'Mr. President, can you tell us what you did in February? Will you walk us through it?' Perfectly legit," Fleischer remarked. "It's another for the reporter to act like the resistance, giving a statement, [and] making a speech advocating against the president."
"So, you know, the reporters bait the president. The president takes the bait. And, therefore, we have a barroom brawl," Fleischer explained.
"Speaking of barrooms," he added, "I've been recommending for a while that the briefing go no more than 30 minutes with the Qs and As. Reporters run out of questions after 30 minutes. But, it also reminds me of being in a bar after 2 a.m. All the good stuff has already happened."
Watch Reid's "questioning" of President Trump below:
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!