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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCNN's Jake Tapper folds to RW pressure. Trump didn't call the virus a hoax is a real thing now.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/cnns-jake-tapper-under-fire-after-admitting-he-didnt-fact-check-aoc-on-trump-coronavirus-claimCNN's Jake Tapper under fire after admitting he didn't fact-check AOC on Trump-coronavirus claim
During an interview on "State of the Union," Ocasio-Cortez was sounding the alarm on her city and state's shortage of medical supplies but then quickly took a swipe at the Trump administration for its evolving rhetoric as the outbreak was spreading.
"We're hearing every step from this administration- first, we were hearing it was a hoax, then we were hearing that everything is fine, then we were hearing that the fundamentals of the economy was OK until the crash comes," Ocasio-Cortez told Tapper.
Tapper responded, acknowledging what Ocasio-Cortez said wasn't factually accurate.
"I thought about it, because the president did not call the virus a hoax," Tapper tweeted. "But I didnt because he *did* call a hoax the concerns of those saying that the response from the president was insufficient and that he was downplaying the gravity of the crisis. And that too was a lie."
He continued, "I guess thats the problem with a politician who lies so often; while I agree that Democrats are mischaracterizing what he said, what he did say was also false so its tough to justify taking the time for a fact check when its not taking a stand defining the truth."
Blecht
(3,803 posts)Why post links to Fox News?
marble falls
(56,355 posts)Iliyah
(25,111 posts)For a month or so, RWers were saying that coronavirus was a hoax, actually a Democratic hoax.
LenaBaby61
(6,965 posts)pat_k
(9,313 posts)I don't know if other right-wingnuts claimed the virus is a hoax, but Tapper is just pointing out that DT's comments weren't "virus is a hoax" but rather "all this alarm about the virus is a hoax," which in my book is just as bad.
coti
(4,612 posts)a hoax.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)pat_k
(9,313 posts)Above is a paraphrase. I don't have direct quotes that fall into the category "the degree of alarm and intensity of warnings are a hoax... everything will be fine.... nothing to see here..."
NanceGreggs
(27,813 posts)Trump did call the virus a "hoax", and compared it to the "Russia hoax" and the "impeachment hoax".
The next day, the WH clean-up crew came out to explain "what the pResident meant" was that the way the Dems were characterizing his inaction was the "hoax", not the virus itself.
JHB
(37,128 posts)This is based on a hair-thin distinction that Republicans never, EVER make when the shoe is on their foot.
From a post of mine related to this in another thread:
And, removed from context, it's technically true that he didn't call the virus itself a hoax.
That rally was on Feb. 28. Over the next few days various fact check sites rated the characterization as "false" or "mixed"
Mar. 2: Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-coronavirus-rally-remark/
Mar. 3, FactCheck.org: https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/trump-and-the-new-hoax/
But there's no separating it from context: Trump has called the Mueller investigation a hoax. At this very same rally he called impeachment a hoax (attributing the comment to an unnamed spontaneously-fawning underling, as he is wont to do).
Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. You know that, right? Coronavirus. Theyre politicizing it. We did one of the great jobs. You say, Hows President Trump doing? They go, Oh, not good, not good. They have no clue. They dont have any clue. They cant even count their votes in Iowa, they cant even count. No they cant. They cant count their votes.
One of my people came up to me and said, Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia. That didnt work out too well. They couldnt do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything, they tried it over and over, theyve been doing it since you got in. Its all turning, they lost, its all turning. Think of it. Think of it. And this is their new hoax. But you know, we did something thats been pretty amazing. Were 15 people [cases of coronavirus infection] in this massive country. And because of the fact that we went early, we went early, we could have had a lot more than that.
"Hoax", translated from Trumpspeak, means: Thing that is as true as sunrise but I desperately want to portray as a baseless attack.
Please note, the people who will fight tooth and nail over the fine distinction over what Trump called a hoax will be the same people who were all outraged at "You didn't build that" when it was clearly referring to publicly-built infrastructure. No, they separated it from context, brewed it up and triple distilled it, hooked it up to their outrage taps, and binge-drank.
Old Soviet propagandists could only wish for an audience so easily malleable. Small wonder how Vlad played them so easily.
underpants
(182,271 posts)I was just about to start searching for the quote.
JohnnyRingo
(18,580 posts)I remember when he went off on it and his focus seemed to be on democrats making a big deal about it, not on whether there was an out of control virus in China.
At the time, Trump was downplaying the whole thing like it'll blow over when April showers bring May flowers so it had the same effect as if he ignored it. What he really said doesn't make him look good.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)The 'clarifications' about 'what he meant' came ex post facto.
wellst0nev0ter
(7,509 posts)tapper needs to apologize for falling for hair-splitting fabulists
JohnnyRingo
(18,580 posts)Often he means conspiracy as in the "Deep State" Mueller investigation or a vendetta like "Pelosi's impeachment".
I believe in this case the 'hoax" meant the Democrats where making a big deal about something that wasn't even going to affect us just so we could ruin the economy in an election year. I guess that may mean he also thought Covid-19 itself was a hoax, but I don't think that angered him as much as Dems calling him incompetent.
I don't think either interpretation makes Trump look stalwart and presidential.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)That he was calling it a hoax in the sense that the later 'clarifications' described ... is bogus.
It could've rightly been interpreted either way when he originally said it.
Hence the clarifications.
rockfordfile
(8,682 posts)underpants
(182,271 posts)Because I'm sure Trump will throw it in to the presser.
marble falls
(56,355 posts)its pretty hard to accuse someone of lying if you can't repeat the lie!
LenaBaby61
(6,965 posts)Tapped out to tRump.
"I thought about it, because the president did not call the virus a hoax," Tapper tweeted. "But I didnt because he *did* call a hoax the concerns of those saying that the response from the president was insufficient and that he was downplaying the gravity of the crisis.
And so did Snopes:
Mixture
About this rating
What's True
During a Feb. 28, 2020, campaign rally in South Carolina, President Donald Trump likened the Democrats' criticism of his administration's response to the new coronavirus outbreak to their efforts to impeach him, saying "this is their new hoax." During the speech he also seemed to downplay the severity of the outbreak, comparing it to the common flu.
What's False
Despite creating some confusion with his remarks, Trump did not call the coronavirus itself a hoax.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-coronavirus-rally-remark/
TeamPooka
(24,155 posts)Really? Need to share a fucking Fox News link?The fuck is the matter with people here
Blecht
(3,803 posts)Fucking disgusting.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)What do Trump's supporters say about Covid 19? If someone is still saying it's all a big hoax, take a wild guess what his political views are. They got the message loud and clear, the very message Trump was transmitting, that it's all a hoax. They didn't all come to that conclusion by coincidence or accident.
Dem4Life1102
(3,974 posts)budkin
(6,688 posts)You can say technically that he didn't say "The coronavirus is a hoax."
Nature Man
(869 posts)swap "semantics" with "bullshit." The asshole motherfucker said what he said and the message was as clear as an unmuddied stream.
budkin
(6,688 posts)But this is how they spin EVERYTHING.
They're all con artists.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)Whiskeytide
(4,459 posts)... admin a hoax. He never called the virus a hoax. He downplayed it. He failed to raise an alarm about it. He failed to pull the levers of government in response. And his cult followers called the virus a hoax. But he didnt. Tappers an ass most of the time. But hes right on this.
brewens
(13,392 posts)But what specifically was Trump referring to? Everything I was aware of were warnings on how bad it might get and relevant question on the response. Any example they give will be shown to be something we are seeing now, or problems that have not been addressed. Or if they were, too little too late.
doc03
(35,143 posts)onenote
(42,373 posts)and the rally at which he made the hoax comment was several days earlier than that.
Let's no make up shit.The reality is bad enough.
doc03
(35,143 posts)it is a Democratic hoax and fake news for probably 2 months or more. I also heard Republicans saying that the Democrats couldn't
remove him from office and now they created this hoax because they know they can't beat him. They have even went as far as saying
the impeachment hearings prevented Trump from acting. If it is like you say even earlier than March 2 that is even worse. Why didn't he
use the extra time to get us prepared? He is still going on TV with his dog and pony show every day and telling lies.
spanone
(135,627 posts)maxrandb
(15,188 posts)They are ALWAYS looking for a way to report stuff Retrumplicans say without being accused of bias.
Call it the "Bias Curve" if you like, but if I could have been graded on this curve, I'd be Chief of Thoracic Surgery at John's Hopkins today.
The media's first thought on ANY story is not the truth or the facts...the FIRST thought is "how can I possibly report this without being accused of bias"!
The Retrumplican War on the press has been highly effective.
This Tapper incident is their payoff.