CNN’s Don Lemon and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes are speaking out against their networks over the outlets’ decision to continue to air Donald Trump’s press briefings, as many have pointed out Trump’s cycle of spewing misleading and false information.
It was reported earlier this month that Trump denied and flat-out dismissed the severity of the coronavirus, which led to a nationwide outbreak that has taken hundreds of lives and left the country unprepared and less than unknowledgeable about the disease. Even after denying the pandemic’s existence and risks, Trump continued to convey false and misleading information about the pandemic. Now, his actions have pushed many news outlets to no longer air his live briefings; Hayes and Lemon want MSNBC and CNN to do the same.
“They have morphed into something akin to Trump rallies without the crowds,” Hayes said. “The briefings are where he casts his failures in the most positive light. Yesterday the man who initially dismissed the coronavirus threat — remember we have all heard it time and time again — said that if 100,000 persons died from the virus, he and his team have done a quote, very good job.” Baller Alert previously reported on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow support of banning Trump’s live press meetings.
Lemon said the briefings should be posted after they air live. “I am not sure if you want to be honest, that we should carry that live. I think we should run snippets. I think we should do it afterward and get the pertinent points to the American people, because he’s never, ever going to tell you the truth.” He added that Trump is making the hearings into a reality show like the reality star’s show Celebrity Apprentice and “wants his base to think the media’s being mean to him and they’re attacking him.”
Some networks have been airing Trump’s briefings in part and cutting away until important information is discussed. In contrast, other outlets have stopped airing the briefings completely and simply posted it online. Hayes said that he can’t make an executive call for MSNBC to ban Trump’s briefings but added that he finds the decision not to be confusing. “It’s obviously above my pay grade. I don’t make the call that we take them or not,” Hayes said. “But it seems crazy to me that everyone’s still taking them when you got the MyPillow guy getting up there, talking about reading the Bible,” referring to Michael Lindell, who Trump brought as a guest during one of his briefings.
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