posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

That's a cop out. There are right wing media spreading stories about it being engineered in a lab in NC. So what. Most reasonable people are concerned with what we are doing to fight it, not some half-baked conspiracy theory. 

If they are concerned with what we are doing to fight it, then ignore him calling it that instead of asking him in the presser 20 times. Him calling it the Chinese virus has no effect on anyone, so why bring it up and then cry racism? Again, fuck China.

IMO, it's childish to call it Chinese or Kung Flu or whatever. It's about equally childish to be concerned about what it's being called, we have some things just a little more important to worry about.

posted by iclfan2

If they are concerned with what we are doing to fight it, then ignore him calling it that instead of asking him in the presser 20 times. Him calling it the Chinese virus has no effect on anyone, so why bring it up and then cry racism? Again, fuck China.

Unfortunately there are a lot of dumbasses in the world that can't separate the actions of the Chinese government with Chinese people. There are a lot of Chinese living in the US and they are on our side. Dumbasses won't be able yo differentiate those two facts and will blame them. Think of Japanese Americans during WW2 or German Americans during WW1. There was a lot of dumbass activity because people couldn't differentiate. 

As for the media - don't watch what you don't like. There are plenty of outlets available that will allow gn with your worldview. Stick to them if it makes you feel better. 

Holy shit, this Trump press conference was going fine and then he just went off on an NBC reporter who asked him, "What do you say to Americans who are scared?" Trump: "I say that you're a terrible reporter."

WTF dude. Take the layup and say, "I say to them stay strong and we have it under control." Instead he just goes off and sounds just petty. 

I thought Kung Flu was pretty catchy

posted by iclfan2

If they are concerned with what we are doing to fight it, then ignore him calling it that instead of asking him in the presser 20 times. Him calling it the Chinese virus has no effect on anyone, so why bring it up and then cry racism? Again, fuck China. 

Not yet given if things are getting better over there, wouldn't it be wise to determine how exactly they are doing it and what steps they took to improve? 

Also, most of our PPE supplies comes from China...so pissing them off right now, may fuck us over. 

posted by queencitybuckeye

IMO, it's childish to call it Chinese or Kung Flu or whatever. It's about equally childish to be concerned about what it's being called, we have some things just a little more important to worry about.

Bingo. No one else calls it this, so the President is doing it to get people all worked up and his base fired up. I don't care for it really and dismiss it as stupid. 

posted by Spock

I thought Kung Flu was pretty catchy

Of course you did....
 

posted by ptown_trojans_1

Holy shit, this Trump press conference was going fine and then he just went off on an NBC reporter who asked him, "What do you say to Americans who are scared?" Trump: "I say that you're a terrible reporter."

WTF dude. Take the layup and say, "I say to them stay strong and we have it under control." Instead he just goes off and sounds just petty. 

There was more to it than that.

Take care.

posted by QuakerOats

 

There was more to it than that.

 

 

 

Take care.

 

As I said, garbage. It was not the time nor place for that shit. 

Trump has also contradicted the experts numerous times during the press conference. His statement on the malaria cure had to be walked back by the FDA yesterday. Today, he said he didn't know anything about people not being able to get tests, which was contradicted by Dr. Faulci just minutes later.  

I watched the whole press conference today. The first 30 mins was great, solid info and strategy. But, once Trump starting free wheeling and talking, shit got so bad and his statements had to be walked back by the experts. 

This isn't hard. Just look at how governors are handling this. 

posted by Spock

I thought Kung Flu was pretty catchy

I'm not sure it's possible for me to be less surprised.
 

posted by ptown_trojans_1

As I said, garbage. It was not the time nor place for that shit. 

Trump has also contradicted the experts numerous times during the press conference. His statement on the malaria cure had to be walked back by the FDA yesterday. Today, he said he didn't know anything about people not being able to get tests, which was contradicted by Dr. Faulci just minutes later.  

I watched the whole press conference today. The first 30 mins was great, solid info and strategy. But, once Trump starting free wheeling and talking, shit got so bad and his statements had to be walked back by the experts. 

This isn't hard. Just look at how governors are handling this. 

Ironically, it sounds like someone mostly needs to stick to the pre-written responses (not unlike Obama with the teleprompter outrage).

I still think Trump is doing a good job.  I accept that he's not perfect and can't help himself in going after a reporter - wasting everyone's time.  But that's who he is.  His leadership and confidence right now is good and reassuring.  That to me is what people expect of their president during this situation.  

The OAN reporter's question yesterday was a STFU moment.  She's from an extreme, right wing conspiracy organization that has floated the same thing the Chinese government is saying - it was a US manufactured virus unleashed in China.  There's no time for this nonsense.  

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

I still think Trump is doing a good job.  I accept that he's not perfect and can't help himself in going after a reporter - wasting everyone's time.  But that's who he is.  His leadership and confidence right now is good and reassuring.  That to me is what people expect of their president during this situation.  

 

The OAN reporter's question yesterday was a STFU moment.  She's from an extreme, right wing conspiracy organization that has floated the same thing the Chinese government is saying - it was a US manufactured virus unleashed in China.  There's no time for this nonsense.  

Oh, I don't disagree.  He's still put the right people in charge, and he's pretty much let them do their thing.

What Trump has been doing during the COVUD-19 outbreak: B

What Trump has been saying during the COVID-19 outbreak: D+

posted by O-Trap

What Trump has been saying during the COVID-19 outbreak: D+

Transparent and straightforward simply isn't in Trump's nature.  Yeah, pretty lousy attribute for when the job's #1 requirement is communication.

posted by gut

Transparent and straightforward simply isn't in Trump's nature.  Yeah, pretty lousy attribute for when the job's #1 requirement is communication.

Right.  Best he can do, given his proclivity for emotional appeal and combative name-calling, is to keep the right people in charge and shut TF up.

Trumps biggest enemy his himself

How much longer until Dr Fauci lands himself into the morass of right wing conspiracy land. No way can he continue to express evidence-based fact without drawing the ire of the Rush Limbaugh / Alex Jones crowd. 

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

How much longer until Dr Fauci lands himself into the morass of right wing conspiracy land. No way can he continue to express evidence-based fact without drawing the ire of the Rush Limbaugh / Alex Jones crowd. 

I’m actually shocked Trump hasn’t fired him yet. 

posted by Spock

Trumps biggest enemy his himself

This times 1000. 

The President is his own worst enemy. 

I'll give him a thumbs up on his news yesterday on extending the CDC guidelines and listening to the experts on moving the date to April 30th. His Easter timeline was just a date out of thing air and a hope. However....

He also cannot stop just throwing shit out there and confusing people as well as being petty and like an asshole sometimes. 

The potential quarantine of the NY area was dumb. The last thing we need in times like these is confusion. Just throwing out hey, we may do something only leads to confusion and panic. Thankfully, he again listened to the experts and didn't issue that. 

He also tweeted out how great his ratings are at his news conference. That is just a petty and bad look. No one fucking cares about your ratings. All we really care about his working to make sure this thing goes away. 

Also, his news conference yesterday was good and then dissolved into a yelling match with the press. He cannot help himself in that he takes everything so personally and just acts like an asshole to people.  

Getting on the press plays well to the base.

His tweeting is the only thing that makes him look bad

Standing at that mic and talking about things like federal lockdowns and moving forward after Easter isnt sending "signals" that are bad.  99% of this country is locked down for no reason.  The media and government is sitting in these large urban areas where they have real problems and then telling us out here in the real world that the sky is falling and if you get sick you die becasue there isnt enough help.  Complete BS for most of us.  For him to throw a little bone out and say we are gonna be back open for business isnt a bad thing,.

posted by Spock

Getting on the press plays well to the base.

His tweeting is the only thing that makes him look bad

Standing at that mic and talking about things like federal lockdowns and moving forward after Easter isnt sending "signals" that are bad.  99% of this country is locked down for no reason.  The media and government is sitting in these large urban areas where they have real problems and then telling us out here in the real world that the sky is falling and if you get sick you die becasue there isnt enough help.  Complete BS for most of us.  For him to throw a little bone out and say we are gonna be back open for business isnt a bad thing,.

No. It is bad. His Easter date was not based on science. In times like these, decisions need to be based on science and the experts, not how things look or how they make people feel. I'll give him a ton of credit for that decision yesterday. 

Him being an asshole may play to the base, but in times like these looks bad to the rest of the country. There is a reason his approval ratings are still not above 50%, while governors and the experts are in the 70%s. 

Oh, and him being an asshole is also hurting his relationship with governors. Telling the VP he shouldn't return the phone calls of certain governors because they didn't treat him right is so petty and crass. 

posted by ptown_trojans_1

No. It is bad. His Easter date was not based on science. In times like these, decisions need to be based on science and the experts, not how things look or how they make people feel. I'll give him a ton of credit for that decision yesterday. 

Him being an asshole may play to the base, but in times like these looks bad to the rest of the country. There is a reason his approval ratings are still not above 50%, while governors and the experts are in the 70%s. 

Oh, and him being an asshole is also hurting his relationship with governors. Telling the VP he shouldn't return the phone calls of certain governors because they didn't treat him right is so petty and crass. 

To me, the last one is the one that's mind-boggling, as it could legit hurt his re-election chances. Michigan is one of those "you better win" swing states and he's basically giving Biden or whomever a free pass to say "Because HE had a grievance with comments made by your governor, HE is willing to half-ass any help to you people just to make a point to her."

posted by Heretic

To me, the last one is the one that's mind-boggling, as it could legit hurt his re-election chances. Michigan is one of those "you better win" swing states and he's basically giving Biden or whomever a free pass to say "Because HE had a grievance with comments made by your governor, HE is willing to half-ass any help to you people just to make a point to her."

Yeah, it's REALLY not a good look, and it's beyond just being petty.  It speaks to a lack of impartial, dispassionate leadership.

I was really hoping that all I would end up griping about during this crisis was his tweets and the fact that he commandeered the mic too much during pressers.

Won't speak to states that don't appreciate him?  What kind of person does this?  He's not a volunteer doing this out of the goodness of his heart, he's the president - it's his job regardless of what appreciation he's shown.  Teenagers quit jobs at McDonald's because the boss didn't appreciate them.  Presidents don't act this way.

Oil comes off the mat after Trump phone call.

WSJ ran an editorial this morning saying that Trump should tighten up and do a better job at his press conferences instead of constantly goi g after reporters. 

Shockingly, the Trump now says the WSJ is "fake news" in a ranting tweet. 

Besides the fact that this was an editorial and not a news story, can anyone think of a poorer use of a leader's time during a crisis like this then to act like a child because he received some well-reasoned criticism?

Seriously, what in the hell is wrong with this man?  We need him right now - focused on things other than himself. It's like he can't stop being a man-child. Come on Mr. President, get in the game. 

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

Won't speak to states that don't appreciate him?  What kind of person does this?

Is there actual proof of this, or is it the usual "unnamed sources"?  Or is it a Democratic governor angling for a VP nomination?  Like, for instance, I know this story started floating around when Cuomo asked for 50,000 respirators (more than our strategic reserves, I believe) well ahead of actually needing them.  And Trump's response was he doesn't need them right now, and "I don't think he'll need nearly that many".  Which, looks now to be a 100% factual statement.  But it seemed to me like that Cuomo story was all that was offered up as "proof" (after much washing and spinning) of Trump playing politics with people's lives

I honestly don't know, just that I've come to expect about 1/3 of the negative stories on Trump - and usually the worst ones - actually are fake news.  Maybe this isn't one of those instances, but I don't understand why the media continues to wreck their own credibility making up shit to attack a guy who has more than enough stuff to attack legitimately.  It's almost as if the media knows the fake news is going to help ensure 4 more years of record ratings.