President Donald Trump’s critics on the left and in the media ripped him on Sunday as a “monster” and “sociopath” and again argued that his Coronavirus briefings should not be televised because Trump only cares about his TV ratings.
Trump enthusiastically tweeted on Sunday afternoon about his TV ratings, but, after thanking the questioner for the “nice question” the president downplayed them when asked about his tweet at the Coronavirus Rose Garden briefing/
“I don’t want high approval ratings for of this. I wish we could have our old life back. We had the greatest economy that we’ve ever had. We didn’t have death. We didn’t have this. We didn’t have this horrible scourge. This plague. You call it whatever you want—the virus,” Trump said. “We’re working very hard. I see things. I see numbers. They don’t matter to me. What matters to me is that we have a victory over this thing as soon as possible.”
Trump’s own words prove why networks need to cut away from his press conferences. He’s using a global pandemic to get free airtime to hold a campaign rally. He brags about “ratings” not whether he’s giving public valuable health info https://t.co/vqMZdBVKyw
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) March 29, 2020
Trump alters another quote to make himself look better.
The actual lede of this NYT piece:
“President Trump is a ratings hit, and some journalists and public health experts say that could be a dangerous thing.”https://t.co/QYHaRAre95 https://t.co/ex3NCRGpl4
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) March 29, 2020
People are dying and the numbers of coronavirus victims are climbing. However, @realDonaldTrump tweets that he wont pay for security for Prince Harry & Princess Meghan who will reside here in the US. He is also tweeting about the briefing TV ratings during virus! 👎🏾 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) March 29, 2020
Highest-rated plague of all time, number one in its time slot pic.twitter.com/ljNcQf4ERg
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) March 29, 2020
As if it wasn’t obvious before, Trump’s repulsive tweets about his “ratings” and comparing them to reality shows should make it clear this is all about feeding his incessant and endless need for attention.
Quit broadcasting his “briefings.” Stop feeding this monster.
— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) March 29, 2020
Trump wasting six weeks doing nothing to prepare the country for a pandemic has cost countless lives but it’s been great for his press conference ratings.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 29, 2020
This is precisely why the media should not be broadcasting Trump’s propaganda sessions live. Have a reporter there, and then fact-check it before presenting it to the American people. You are doing the country a disservice for ratings media! https://t.co/Fx5D3BCqfq
— Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) March 27, 2020
It’s debatable whether ratings matter one bit at a time when people are dying and there’s a GLOBAL health crisis to deal with.
But since he brought it up, let’s check a few numbers with Mr. Nielsen. These claims could stand some perspective.
Ready?
More…. https://t.co/5Hdf2fAXjF
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) March 29, 2020
Trump is bragging about his ratings. The media needs to stop covering theee obvious campaign events live. If there’s news, report on it after. https://t.co/VStZ1ZiAzr
— John Aravosis 🇺🇸 (@aravosis) March 29, 2020
264 Americans died today.
Trump spent the day bragging about his TV ratings , posting presidential selfies, talking about Harry & Meaghan, criticizing CNNs ratings, & then accusing nurses & doctors risking their lives to treat us of lying about their need for PPE.
Sociopath.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) March 30, 2020
Congratulations to President Trump! A few hundred thousand dead Americans is a SMALL price to pay (30-60 9/11s) for HIGH ratings!
Thank you to @SenateGOP for standing with our Huge Sociopath President, no matter how easy it would have been to remove him for abusing his office! https://t.co/ZMZyPJekYl
— Max Berger (@maxberger) March 29, 2020
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