NEWS AND OPINION:
The daily White House press briefing is also a daily tour de force, aired live from the White House featuring President Trump and the nation’s leading health experts, Cabinet members, military brass and response strategists. This unprecedented cast is plainspoken and candid, their updates of much value to the public.
The news media does not agree with this, however. Some members of the press still insist that networks should stop airing the briefings. Decorum has faded. Journalists repeat the same accusatory questions; they interrupt — or offer scathing commentary in the aftermath. Mr. Trump remains unfazed by this phenomenon — which would have been unheard of in previous administrations.
At a time when uneasy Americans seek straightforward information, Gallup reveals that the public is paying far more attention to the news during the pandemic; only 34% have a favorable review of the press however. The pollster also found that Americans heartily approve of the coronavirus response from Mr. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and six national institutions. But not the press.
“Only the news media gets a more negative than positive review,” Gallup said.
“The media is mystified as America rallies behind President Trump during the coronavirus crisis. Much of the media can’t let go of their pre-crisis agenda — including their hatred of the president, which persists unabated (blatantly on display in press briefings) even amid this national emergency,” noted a recent New York Post editorial.
But not to worry.
“There is no Republican in existence who handles media malfeasance as well as Trump. It is obvious that the media objective is to turn the handling of the coronavirus pandemic into Trump’s ’Katrina.’ Trump doing press conferences is a major frustration in their ability to do that. That’s why the media are trying to pressure him to stop doing them,” writes Mollie Hemingway, a senior editor at The Federalist.
“For the average American, it is difficult to navigate the news, politics, and policy in an environment where so very many in the media are actively framing every event and data point through the lens of how it can be used to hurt Trump. Far too many in the news media are not focused on conveying information that is true or factual, and certainly not whether it is good for America or for its citizens. The simple calculus is to push the envelope as far as they think they can get away with in their goal to ensure Trump does not win re-election,” Ms. Hemingway notes.
BYPASSING THE MEDIA
So who needs the news media?
President Trump’s campaign has launched an aggressive, round-the-clock “virtual campaign” that includes online broadcasts and volunteer training, digital advertising and much messaging. Organizers now say the new outreach has already yielded 276,000 new volunteers and reached 17 million people.
“It is a way to fight through the fake news filter and get President Trump’s message directly to the people,” organizers advise.
It also harmonizes with the current crisis.
“The Trump campaign has made a seamless transition to virtual campaigning in accordance with coronavirus safety protocols,” says Brad Parscale, Trump 2020 campaign manager.
’LANGUAGE OF REVOLUTION’
It is not an easy path for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
“Joe Biden has a big problem. He can’t get elected without the support of far-left Bernie Sanders supporters, but to do that, he has to propose radical policies that will cost him the votes of almost everyone else,” writes PJ Media editor Rick Moran.
“His answer so far has been to propose elements of the Sanders agenda without falling off a cliff and out of sight of the mainstream. He has embraced Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s radical bankruptcy reform ideas and has now proposed expanding Medicare coverage for those 60 and over as well as forgiving the college loan debt of millions,” Says Mr. Moran.
“It’s a far cry from Medicare for All and the total elimination of student debt — and Sanders supporters aren’t rising to take the bait. Biden doesn’t speak the language of revolution, nor does he have the fire of commitment that so many Sanders acolytes say is what attracted them to the socialist’s campaign in the first place.”
DOWN A COUPLE OF MILLION
Even the richest of the rich have been affected by the economic ills spread by the coronavirus crisis. Forbes, which has long tracked the comings and goings of billionaire fortunes, offers the latest tally. The number is going down.
“The richest people on Earth are not immune to the coronavirus. As the pandemic tightened its grip on Europe and America, global equity markets imploded, tanking many fortunes. As of March 18, when we finalized this list, Forbes counted 2,095 billionaires, 58 fewer than a year ago and 226 fewer than just 12 days earlier, when we initially calculated these net worths. Of the billionaires who remain, 51% are poorer than they were last year. In raw terms, the world’s billionaires are worth $8 trillion, down $700 billion from 2019,” the news organization reports.
Forbes revealed that Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos is the world’s wealthiest person for the third year in a row, worth $113 billion. Bill Gates is second on the rarefied roster with $98 billion, French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault is third with $92 billion and Berkshire Hathaway tycoon Warren Buffet ranks fourth with $76.3 billion.
For the curious, President Trump ranks No. 1,142 on the lengthy list, worth $2.1 billion.
POLL DU JOUR
• 49% of U.S. voters approve of the job President Trump is doing; 89% of Republicans, 36% of independents and 13% of Democrats agree.
• 48% of voters overall say they are “extremely interested” in the presidential election; 54% of Republicans, 17% of independents and 51% of Democrats agree.
• 26% overall say they are “very interested” in the election; 25% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 29% of Democrats agree.
• 20% overall say they are “somewhat interested” in the election; 17% of Republicans, 36% of independents and 18% of Democrats agree.
• 5% overall say they are “not at all interested” in the election; 3% of Republicans, 19% of independents and 2% of Democrats agree.
Source: A Fox News poll of 1,107 U.S. adults conducted April 4-7 and released Friday.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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