Trump slams NYT's 'disgraceful' coverage of his coronavirus response, says he won't let them get away with it
President Donald Trump is known for his enmity he shares with the mainstream US media and in these times of the coronavirus scare, the differences have started to become more vivid. The president on Tuesday, March 17, lashed out at the New York Times’ coverage of his administration’s response to the pandemic, saying it did “disgraceful” journalism.
It all happened when a reporter asked the president about his attacks on Democrats, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and former president Barack Obama. Trump then defended his actions and said he only hits out when he is forced to “respond”. Whitmer, like many other Democrats, had previously slammed the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus, which saw the latter retaliating in his typical verbal style.
“She said something that was false and therefore I did do that. And I will continue to do that,” Trump, who recently donated his salary of the fourth quarter to the Department of the Health and Human Services, said before alleging that reporters were misrepresenting him in a phone call on Monday, March 16.
“If they’re going to say things that are false, like the story that was written yesterday. Somebody — I think I know who, but they taped the conference call that I had with the governors, it was a good call, it was fine. I assume somebody is going to tape it,” the 73-year-old Republican leader said, adding: “They handed it to various people, and one of them was the New York Times and the New York Times chose to write totally inaccurately about it.”
'They have media on their side, I just have me'
“It was a disgraceful thing. It was bad journalism. But, you know, they do a lot of bad journalism. But, we respond to that. And actually, people get it, people get it,” he added.
He said if “they” are not going to play fair, he will continue to defend himself. “They have the media on their side, I don’t. I just have me,” Trump said.
Trump, who has locked horns with the NYT a number of times in the past, then said that he wanted it to be bipartisan but would not remain silent if he or his people were being attacked. “...When they attack me or the people, these incredible people behind me, I’m not going to let them get away with it,” he said.
The NYT appeared to misrepresent the president’s phone call with governors of various states on Monday to make it look as if he was telling the states that they were on their own to deal with the pandemic. The disease has claimed over 100 lives in the US while over 6,000 have been affected.