The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank presented a very selective quote from President Trump’s speech in South Carolina last night, claiming Trump referred to the coronavirus as a “hoax.”
The claim is going viral, if you’ll pardon the expression, and Milbank is far from alone in helping it along:
He's not the only one. Aaron Rupar is also spreading the hoax, and Ted Lieu shared Rupar's tweet.
— Eric Spencer (@JustEric) February 29, 2020
Right on cue, Rep. Ted Lieu was all over the new talking point:
If you believe @realDonaldTrump’s words about the “new hoax,” then you are really stupid. Just today new #coronavirus cases were identified in Santa Clara County, CA and in Oregon.
There are now over 85,000 cases worldwide & over 2,900 deaths. Don’t be stupid. https://t.co/oTxp2DyWTD
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 29, 2020
If you think Democrats worked with the entire world on a “new hoax” to take down @realDonaldTrump, then yes I think you are stupid, disrespect you and believe you are part of a cult.
BECAUSE LIVES ARE AT STAKE. NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT TRUMP. TAKE YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND. https://t.co/fF9guBdGhx
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 29, 2020
Joe Biden also did his part:
"He's a fool" – @JoeBiden on @realDonaldTrump comments last night in South Carolina regarding coronavirus. More from my interview with him later on @SpecNewsRDU #ncpol @CNNPolitics @MSNBC @foxnewsdesk pic.twitter.com/FLeV9DELNL
— Tim Boyum (@TimBoyumTV) February 29, 2020
And the anti-Trump Resistance and Democrats can’t have a decent talking point without some help from the media. Here’s NBC News reporter Ken Dilanian sharing a story that coincidentally takes the same approach as the Democrats:
Trump calls coronavirus Democrats' 'new hoax' https://t.co/0sQldicdqi
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) February 29, 2020
Politico also appears to be intentionally avoiding the point:
President Trump on Friday night tried to cast the global outbreak of the coronavirus as a liberal conspiracy intended to undermine his first term, lumping it alongside impeachment and the Mueller investigation https://t.co/2nQ26piuhJ
— POLITICO (@politico) February 29, 2020
Bill Kristol also helped out:
President Trump has called concerns about the spread of coronavirus a hoax. Do you agree, @VP? And you, @SecAzar? https://t.co/vGb9Cx12tl
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 29, 2020
Oh come on.
He did not call the virus a Democrat hoax. That is a lie easily discernible by watching the video. He called the democrat reaction to the steps he's taken, a hoax, which it is.
First the said he was overreacting, now it's he is not doing enough.
— BayAreaFrau (@bayareahausfrau) February 29, 2020
This is not true.
This is proven false by the video in your own article. https://t.co/4975lcW4qI— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) February 29, 2020
Video of the speech clearly shows Trump referring to Democrat lies about the administration’s response as the “hoax” and not the virus itself (those referring to the outbreak as “Trumpvirus” only confirm Trump’s claim):
Actually, he said tweets like yours- attempts to politicize the coronavirus- are the new hoax. You're a liar. Here's the video: pic.twitter.com/1h7j4Sco0N
— Eddie Zipperer (@EddieZipperer) February 29, 2020
Even the Associated Press called out Democrats for lying about the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus. The Dem and media’s response has obviously been to double down:
I get that nuance is dead, but the purposeful misrepresentation here is ridiculous. This garbage is making everyone dumber. Stop it. https://t.co/dEfxs4wjZy
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 29, 2020
It’s a compulsive disorder.
— S.H.M. (@Shanti__Ananda) February 29, 2020
Apparently.
You KNOW he means their NARRATIVE not the actual virus. LIAR
— huitrecouture (@huitrecouture) February 29, 2020
You’re lying. @realDonaldTrump never said that. He was talking about the Coronavirus readiness attacks from Democrats that even the Associated Press reported weren’t true.
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) February 29, 2020
Trump: “We have to take it very seriously. We are preparing for the worst.”
Politico: Trump called “the global outbreak” a “liberal conspiracy” and a “hoax” https://t.co/s0PooiFbjr pic.twitter.com/eQKlIqT0AP
— Geoffrey Ingersoll (@GPIngersoll) February 29, 2020
Everyone from Bill Kristol to Ted Lieu is spinning this as if Trump was saying that the corovirus itself is a hoax. Even Politico is jumping in. "At what point does this constitute a disinformation campaign, as opposed to media spin?" is a question we should all be asking. pic.twitter.com/HNDQUKvGhs
— Jeff Giesea? (@jeffgiesea) February 29, 2020
Congratulations you did this and are helping Trump get re-elected… pic.twitter.com/jdiR2CQIGK
— Paul Sacca (@Paul_Sacca) February 29, 2020
Wow, is it that high?
By the way, where are all the social media “truth police” when the Dems (with help from the media) are pushing more of their BS?
Waiting for Twitter to do something about this misinformation. Oh hey, my paint just dried.
— I'm To Blame (@im2blame4) February 29, 2020
We have @Twitter, @ewarren, @Facebook all screaming they must stop political misinformation, through gov force if necessary.
A @washingtonpost journalist shares a @NBCNews article that is clearly and intentionally lying about @realDonaldTrump on the coronavirus.
Response: pic.twitter.com/t0WcuqWLXz
— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) February 29, 2020
It’s a safe bet that those crickets will only get louder as the day goes on.
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