Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
- President Trump lashed out at the media on Wednesday morning and accused them of hyping up the threat from the coronavirus, which has spread to 37 countries so far.
- “Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible,” Trump said in a tweet blasting two cable news outlets.
- The president’s combative remarks echoed a statement that Business Insider received from White House spokesperson Judd Deere on Tuesday.
- Trump is reportedly furious that the stock market has tanked due to mounting fears that the virus will inevitably spread in the US.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Trump lashed out at the media on Wednesday morning and accused them of trying to panic financial markets after public health officials warned that the spread of the coronavirus in the United States is “inevitable.”
“Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible,” Trump said in a tweet that misspelled the name of the virus that’s spread to 39 countries so far and blasted two cable news outlets which have drawn his ire in the past.
He went on: “Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action. USA in great shape!”
He also announced a press conference scheduled for 6 p.m. ET alongside officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The president’s combative remarks echoed a statement that Business Insider received from White House spokesperson Judd Deere on Tuesday. It alleged there was “a political effort by the left and some in the media to distract and disturb the American people with fearful rhetoric and palace intrigue” and defended the administration’s response to the coronavirus so far.
Trump is reportedly furious that the stock market has tanked due to mounting fears that the virus will inevitably spread in the US, the Washington Post reported. The market drop threatens one of his favorite economic scorecards he’s touted in his re-election campaign.
The sell-off in the Dow Jones totaled 1,911 points over just two days, Business Insider’s Gwen Everett reported, the worst two-day point drop on record for the index. The S&P 500 erased more than 3% on Tuesday alone.
The stock losses came after top health officials warned Americans they should start preparing for the spread of the virus within the US, an assessment that contrasted sharply with comments from Trump and other senior White House officials like Larry Kudlow.
Both have said the coronavirus is under control and tried striking an upbeat tone in recent days. Kudlow said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday: “We have contained this. I won’t say it’s airtight, but it’s pretty close to airtight.
The coronavirus continues to spread abroad, particularly in Europe and new infections were reported in France, Croatia, Switzerland, and Austria. The US has 57 confirmed cases so far, though the vast majority of them originated overseas.
But most cases and deaths resulting from COVID-19 remain at its point of origin in China, where over 2,000 people have died.
