Ever since Friday night we’ve had a lot of the media declaring that President Trump called the coronavirus a “hoax,” and political opponents like Speaker Nancy Pelosi are complaining that Trump’s response has been “too late” and “anemic,” while simultaneously claiming he’s been using “scare tactics” about people entering the country from affected areas.
It’s important to remember, though, that Trump pulled together a coronavirus task force in the midst of the circus that was his impeachment, and the biggest complaint the media had at the time was that the task force wasn’t diverse enough. Credit CNN for being the first with that hot take back in January: “… the recent photos of ‘the best experts’ telegraph the sorts of people the administration deems worthy of holding power — and even being in close proximity to it.”
On Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence gave an update on the progress being made by the coronavirus task force and included a photo.