Donald Trump lashed out at an NBC News correspondent during a news briefing, where he referred to him as a “terrible reporter” on Friday after being asked to calm Americans’ fears who were afraid due to the coronavirus pandemic.
NBC News’ Peter Alexander, a White House correspondent and a weekend anchor of “TODAY,” asked Trump whether his “positive spin” regarding the potential treatments was giving Americans false hope during the crisis, to which Trump responded by saying, “No, I don’t think so,” Trump replied. “It may work, it may not work, Trump said. “I feel good about it. That’s all it is, it’s a feeling.”
Alexander followed up his question by asking Trump to speak directly to American citizens who are scared by the current state of things, which triggered the president to berate the reporter.
“What do you say to Americans who are scared though? I guess, nearly 200 dead, 14,000 who are sick, millions, as you witnessed, who are scared right now,” Alexander asked. “What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?”
“I say that you’re a terrible reporter,” Trump said. “That’s what I say. I think that’s a very nasty question.”
“The American people are looking for answers, and they’re looking for hope, and you’re doing sensationalism,” Trump said.
“Let’s see if it works,” Trump added about possible treatments. “It might, and it might not. I happen to feel good about it, but who knows, I’ve been right a lot. Let’s see what happens,” he added.
In recent weeks, Trump has continued to lash out at media, all while downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic. He went on to claim that there were drug therapies for coronavirus. However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of his top government scientists disputed this claim, saying that any evidence about drug therapies being tested at the moment was strictly “anecdotal” and not the product of a “clinical trial.”
