Donald Trump has accused the 'lamestream' media of conspiring together to undermine him after he shared heated exchanges with t...
Donald Trump has accused the 'lamestream' media of conspiring together to undermine him after he shared heated exchanges with two reporters at a Monday press briefing before storming off stage.
During the press conference, Trump was asked by CBS News' Weija Jiang why he sees COVID-19 testing as a global competition when 80,000 Americans have so far died from the deadly virus.
'Maybe that's a question you should ask China,' Trump told Jiang, who is Chinese-American. 'Don't ask me. Ask China that question, OK?'
The president then called on CNN's Kaitlan Collins, but Jiang interjected to ask Trump: 'Why are you saying that to me specifically?'
'I'm telling you,' Trump replied. 'I'm not saying it specifically to anybody. I'm saying it to anybody that asks a nasty question.'
Jiang protested there was nothing 'nasty' about what she was asking, but a second inquiry as to why she was specifically told to 'ask China' went unanswered by the president.
When Collins then approached the microphone to ask her own set of questions, the president interrupted her, telling her 'No, it's okay,' and instructed a different reporter to step forward.
Collins then shared a back-and-forth of her own with Trump, prompting the president to abruptly end the press conference and walk off stage.
Referencing the tense chain of events on Twitter late Monday evening, the president accused the two reporters of conspiring together to sabotage the briefing.
'The Lamestream Media is truly out of control, Trump blasted on Twitter. 'Look how they work (conspire!) together. They are the Enemy of the People, but don’t worry, we will WIN in November!'
The president has faced criticism for what appears to be a disproportion series of attacks on female reporters.
Senator Bernie Sanders called the exchange 'pretty pathetic' on Twitter, adding that the president is 'a coward who tears down others to make himself feel powerful'.
New York Magazine correspondent Olivia Nuzzi said: 'The President's unprofessionalism is always revealed most clearly when he is interacting with female reporters.'
Others, meanwhile, accused Trump of using outright racist remarks towards Jiang - who previously tweeted in March that a White House official had referred to the coronavirus as 'Kung-flu' during a conversation with her.
The president himself has previously had public spats with both Jiang and Collins.
Trump previously said neither Jiang nor her fellow CBS News reporter was a 'Donna Reed' and White House staff tried to move Collins out of her front row seat to the back of the briefing room in late April.
In mid-April, Trump told Jiang to 'keep your voice down' as she asked him about what he did to warn the American people in February that the coronavirus was being spread like 'wildfire.'
Jiang pointed to comments Trump had made earlier, in which he said he was 'angry' because information about the coronavirus 'should have been told to us' earlier.
'Many Americans are saying the exact same thing about you, that you should have warned them the virus was spreading like wildfire through the month of February, instead of holding rallies with thousands of people,' Jiang said. 'Why did you wait so long to warn them?'
Trump interrupted Jiang to ask her 'who are you with?' and then pointed to his late January ban of flights coming in from China.
'Chinese nationals ... by the way, not Americans who were also coming in from China,' Jiang corrected the president.
To this he responded to the reporter by saying, 'Nice and easy.' 'Nice and easy, just relax,' Trump said.
'We cut it off. People were amazed. These gentlemen, everybody was amazed that I did it. We had 21 people in the room, everybody was against it but me. Dr. Fauci said, had I not done that perhaps tens of thousands and maybe much more than that would have died,' the president continued. 'I was very early. Very, very early.'
Trump then pointed to a tweet that he had sent out earlier Sunday quoting Fox News Channels Bret Baier who wrote that at the February 19 Democratic debate in Las Vegas the coronavirus didn't come up once.
'It wasn't even mentioned - the Democrats,' Trump said.
'And you're the president, sir. And you didn't warn people that it was spreading so quickly,' Jiang shot back. 'And, by the way, when you issued the ban, the virus was already here.'
Trump then asked the CBS News reporter if she knew how many cases were in the United States when he implemented the China ban. 'Do you know the number?' he asked. 'Tell me. '
'But did you know that it was going to spread and become a pandemic?' Jiang answered instead.
The president said she needed to do her research.
'I did my research,' Jiang said. 'On the 23rd of March you said you knew this was going to be a pandemic, well before the [World Health Organization.] So did you know it was going to spread?'
Trump said that he 'did know it.'
'All - anybody knew it. Just - are you ready? How many cases were in the United States when I did my ban? How many people had died in the United States?' Trump continued to ask.
'And you're the president, sir. And you didn't warn people that it was spreading so quickly,' Jiang shot back. 'And, by the way, when you issued the ban, the virus was already here.'
Trump then asked the CBS News reporter if she knew how many cases were in the United States when he implemented the China ban. 'Do you know the number?' he asked. 'Tell me. '
'But did you know that it was going to spread and become a pandemic?' Jiang answered instead.
The president said she needed to do her research.
'I did my research,' Jiang said. 'On the 23rd of March you said you knew this was going to be a pandemic, well before the [World Health Organization.] So did you know it was going to spread?'
Trump said that he 'did know it.'
'All - anybody knew it. Just - are you ready? How many cases were in the United States when I did my ban? How many people had died in the United States?' Trump continued to ask.
When Jiang took that to mean that he didn't think it was going to spread, Trump laid into her.
'Keep your voice down, please,' he told her 'Keep your voice down.'
In an interview with The New York Post last week, Trump said neither Jiang nor her colleague Paula Reid were a 'Donna Reed.'
'It wasn't Donna Reed, I can tell you that,' Trump said, referring to the the mom in an eponymous family TV sitcom of the '50s and '60s.
In late April, President Trump abruptly cut off one of his coronavirus press briefings without taking any questions from the press shortly after Collins refused to move to the back of the room.
Collins said she was asked by White House officials to swap seats with another reporter several rows behind her, minutes before Trump's briefing on Friday afternoon.
Reporters' seats are assigned in advance through the White House Correspondents Association, and major TV networks, such as CNN, have front row seats.
Collins cited the WHCA guidelines and refused to switch seats with Washington Blade's Chris Johnson, who was sitting in the sixth row and who also refused to move. A White House official then suggested the Secret Service would get involved if they didn't swap seats, although no action was taken.
Moments later, Trump entered the room for the briefing but cut it short after 22 minutes, failing to take any questions from the press.
The day before that briefing, Trump had a spat with Collins as he addressed a question from another reporter about Kim Jong Un's health status, as reports circulated the North Korean dictator was near death.
When Collins tried to follow up with her own question, Trump cut her off, saying: 'No, that’s enough. The problem is, you don’t write the truth.'
Collins tried to interject, but Trump said: 'No, not CNN. I told you, CNN is fake news. Don’t talk to me.'
It seems Thursday's altercation played into Friday's incident when the White House tried to move Collins to the back of the room.
However, the White House does not control press seating.
It is handled by the WHCA and is seating is determined by the news outlet's size.
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