‘They’re rooting for the coronavirus’: Trump allies attack Democrats and the media – The Guardian

As the number of coronavirus cases begins to swell in the United States, conservative media outlets have been dedicating hours of airtime to slamming Democrats and mainstream media outlets such as the New York Times and CNN for being critical of Donald Trump and his response to the coronavirus.

For days, Trumps allies in right-wing media have defended the president and his response to coronavirus, supporting the administrations narrative that Democrats are using the coronavirus to further their own political agenda by purposefully exaggerating the severity of coronavirus just to blame Trump for it.

Peter Hegseth, a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekends, admonished Democrats criticism, saying: Theyre rooting for the coronavirus to spread. Theyre rooting for it to grow. Theyre rooting for the problem to get worse.

Theyre probably jumping for joy, Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt said about the Democrats reaction to stock markets dropping.

Fox News has brought on Trumps allies as guests, showering them with sympathy over the criticism they are getting over coronavirus.

On Laura Ingrahams show, the Fox News host similarly rebuked the media for using coronavirus to smear the administration in a number of ways.

Such colossal nonsense, said guest Alex Azar, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, in agreement.

Conservative pundit Sean Hannity brought on Donald Trump Jr, the presidents son, to help emphasize that Trump as president is effectively mitigating a potential outbreak in the US. How many thousands of Americans didnt contract this virus? Hannity asked Donald Trump Jr.

Well, many, Donald Trump Jr responded. Theres no way we wouldnt have thousands of more people that have contracted this [without Trump].

Around 100 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the US and there have been six deaths, all in Washington state. The World Health Organization has confirmed nearly 90,000 cases, the vast majority in China, and more than 3,000 deaths.

Coronavirus, or Covid-19, is a respiratory illness with symptoms similar to flu. Most who contract it recover but it can develop into pneumonia-like symptoms and the elderly and those with health problems are at particular risk.

Other guests that Fox have brought over the past week have blasted Democrats and the media for criticizing Trump.

Gayle Trotter, a conservative columnist, said it was outrageous that Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank has not taken down a tweet that read Remember this moment: Trump, in South Carolina, just called the coronavirus a hoax. Milbank was referring to Trump saying at a rally that Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus this is their new hoax.

President Trump has said this a serious matter, and hes not getting press coverage for that, Trotter said on Fox News.

Liberal MSNBC host Chris Hayes said: Really fascinating to watch rightwing media wrestle with coronavirus. The reactionary instinct is to fearmonger about diseased foreigners, but that might hurt Trump, so theyre trying to tamp down those fears or spin some anti-Trump conspiracy.

Tensions between Democrats and Republicans around the US response to coronavirus escalated last week when Donald Trump announced that his administration would be digging up $2.5bn to respond to a potential outbreak and putting vice-president Mike Pence in charge of the US response to the illness.

Democrats have been vocal about their criticism of the funding, saying Trumps requested funding is not enough. Democrats have also said that putting Pence at the front of the fight against coronavirus shows that the White House is not taking it seriously.

In defending his father against criticism from the media, Donald Trump Jr went so far as to say on Fox News that Democrats seemingly hope that it comes here and kills millions of people so they can end Donald Trumps streak of winning.

In a tense exchange with NBCs Chuck Todd, Pence said that Donald Trump Jrs comment was necessary pushback. When you see voices from our side pushing back on outrageous and irresponsible rhetoric on the other side, I think thats important, he told Todd.

Do you think this rhetoric from your side helps? Todd asked.

I never begrudge people responding to unwarranted, unjustified attacks, Pence said.

In the process of their defense, Trumps allies try to assure their audiences that any panic over coronavirus in the United States is largely unnecessary.

In an earlier segment last week, Hannity mocked Democrat and the medias response to coronavirus: Tonight I can absolutely report the sky is falling. We are all doomed. The end is near. The apocalypse is imminent, and you are going to all die. All of you in the next 48 hours, and its all President Trumps fault.

Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh said the coronavirus is the common cold, folks after saying the illness is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump.

Joel Pollak, an editor at Breitbart wrote a column titled Five Reasons to Stop Freaking Out About Coronavirus, where he wrote that coronavirus is a familiar illness, and not as bad as others.

Instead, coronavirus is an info-demic, a panic caused by the spread of partial and often misleading information about a health risk, sometimes deliberately, Pollack wrote.

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'They're rooting for the coronavirus': Trump allies attack Democrats and the media - The Guardian