Who’s Right: Donald Trump or the Media?

I’ve seen this posted everywhere; article after article in the mainstream media telling us to stop worrying about the coronavirus.

I checked them all, and every one is real.

1. “We Should Deescalate the War on the Coronavirus,” by Robert Dingwall, Wired, January 29, 2020
2. “As the coronavirus spreads, fear is fueling racism and xenophobia,” by Jessie Yeung, CNN, January 31, 2020
3. “You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus,” by James Hamblin, The Atlantic, February 24, 2020
4. “Is the Coronavirus Worse Than The Flu? Here’s How the 2 Illnesses Compare,” by Leah Groth, Health, February 26, 2020. The subtitle is, “It depends on what you mean by ‘worse.’” A doctor quoted in the story says the flu is worse, but that the coronavirus spreads more easily.
5. “The Fear of the Coronavirus, and the Reality of the Flu,” by Simon Murray, HCPLive, February 10, 2020. The final sentence says the outbreak “serves as a surrogate for a good deal of xenophobia and fear of the country [China] itself.”
6. “Panic over coronavirus could be caused by flu numbers,” by Renae Skinner, KOAA, February 7, 2020
7. “The Flu Is a Way Bigger Threat to Most People in The US Than Coronavirus. Here’s Why,” by Aylin Woodward, Business Insider, January 25, 2020
8. “Heath official: You are more likely to catch flu in Oregon than deadly Wuhan coronavirus,” by Stephanie Rothman and KVAL.com staff, KVAL, January 22, 2020
9. “Is the new virus more ‘deadly’ than flu? Not exactly,” Associated Press, February 18, 2020
10. “Amid coronavirus panic, doctors remind public: Flu is deadlier, more widespread,” by Denis Dador, Eyewitness News 7, March 4, 2020
11. “MD Flu Deaths Climb As Flu More Worrisome Than Coronavirus,” by Deb Belt, Patch, February 23, 2020
12. “New coronavirus may be no more dangerous than the flu despite worldwide alarm: experts,” by Tom Blackwell, National Post, February 3, 2020
13. “Experts warn flu is greater risk than coronavirus,” by WICS/WRSP staff, News Channel ABC 20, February 13, 2020
14. “Want to Protect Yourself From Coronavirus. Do the Same Things You Do Every Winter,” by Jamie Ducharme, Time, January 31, 2020
15. “Doctor suggests worrying about the common flu, not coronavirus,” by Michael Martin, Fox 17 West Michigan, January 31, 2020
16. “New coronavirus is likely to go pandemic, but that’s no reason to panic or overreact,” by Bob England and Will Humble, AZCentral, February 25, 2020
17. “Relax! Coronavirus is Less Dangerous Than the Flu, Says Epidemic Expert,” by Mark Emem, CCN, January 31, 2020
18. “The Flu Is Still a Bigger Health in the U.S. than Novel Coronavirus,” by Lesley McClurg, KQED, January 29, 2020
19. “Why are we panicked about coronavirus – and calm about the flu?” by Anthony DiFlorio, The Hill, February 4, 2020
20. “Flu hitting Arizona more than usual this season, despite attention on coronavirus,” by Mike Pelton, ABC 15, February 6, 2020
21. “New coronavirus spreads more like flu than SARS: Chinese study,” by Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters, February 19, 2020
22. “Forget the Coronavirus: The Flu Pandemic of 1918 Killed More People in One Year than all of World War I,” by Sebastien Roblin, National Interest, February 15, 2020
23. “The Virus Killing U.S. Kids Isn’t the One Dominating the Headlines,” by Michael Daly, Daily Beast, February 6, 2020. Hint: It’s a three-letter-word that begins with F.
24. “Is Coronavirus Spreading Faster Than SARS, Ebola, and Swine Flu?” by Dan Evon, Snopes, February 26, 2020
25. “Why we panic about coronavirus, but not the flu,” by Bob Herman, Axios, January 29, 2020
26. “Coronavirus is deadly, but flu has claimed over 8,000 lives this season,” by Jasmine Vaughn-Hall, York Daily Record, January 31, 2020

Several articles reported that the flu had, at the time, killed more people than the virus. Today, journalists at many publications are slamming President Trump for having compared coronavirus to the flu, but their colleagues did the same thing. Vox didn’t just compare coronavirus to the flu, but said the new disease might “look more like the common cold than like SARS.”

Vox shamelessly deleted an article that assured readers we wouldn’t get “a deadly pandemic.”

This matters because many journalists now refuse to cover President Trump’s press conferences. They say the briefings are “falsehood-filled,” to use New York Magazine’s phrase. They want a monopoly on information, which is not reassuring when they are so reliably unreliable.

President Trump made the same mistake many journalists did, and he didn’t act strongly when he should have. However, he did ban travel from China and imposed a quarantine on returning travelers.

He was blasted for that:

• “Coronavirus quarantine, travel ban could backfire, experts fear,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico, February 4, 2020
• “The US coronavirus travel ban could backfire. Here’s how,” by Catherine Shoichet, CNN, February 7, 2020
• “Coronavirus: could the US government’s quarantine and travel ban backfire?,” by Sam Levin, The Guardian, February 4, 2020

On January 31, Joe Biden attacked President Trump’s “hysteria xenophobia [sic], hysterical xenophobia.” In March, Bernie Sanders said if the choice were his, he wouldn’t close the borders; he would listen to “scientists” instead.

This all seems ridiculous now that we are trapped in our own homes. It would have been better to have one large wall around the whole country rather than countless little ones inside it.

The press also heaped scorn on President Trump for offering “false hope” when he mentioned the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine.

• “Coronavirus treatment: Dr. Donald Trump peddles snake oil and false hope,” USA Today Editorial Board, March 21, 2020
• “Trump’s claim that malaria drug can treat coronavirus gives hope, but little evidence it will work,” by Berkeley Lovelace Jr., CNBC, March 26, 2020
• “Trump touted hydroxychloroquine as a cure for Covid-19. Don’t believe the hype,” by Oliver Milman, The Guardian, March 28, 2020

Twitter removed a tweet from Laura Ingraham that claimed there were “very promising results.” Once again, a tech company decided what people should read.

President Trump didn’t say it was a cure. He said there was promising evidence, but the New York Times tried to blame him when a couple foolishly drank fish-tank cleaner. The husband died and his wife barely survived. “The drug, known as chloroquine phosphate or chloroquine,” wrote Neil Vigdor in The New York Times, “has been bandied about by President Trump during White House briefings on the coronavirus pandemic as a potential ‘game changer’.” But President Trump had not recommended that specific chemical — chloroquine phosphate — something the Axios news site admitted when it deleted a tweet blaming him.

On April 2, thousands of doctors reported in a poll that hydroxychloroquine actually is the most effective known treatment for coronavirus. A small study from China reported it is effective in treating patients with mild cases. A test of the drug’s preventive power is also underway. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom many Democrats want to be their presidential nominee, has already begun a larger clinical trial. It’s wrong to claim hydroxychloroquine works, but President Trump wasn’t just making things up. If he was selling “snake oil,” so is Andrew Cuomo.

President Trump should have done more to prevent this crisis. His claim that it could be over by Easter was stupid. Of course, had he done what was necessary, journalists would have said he was using Nazi tactics. Some do anyway.

• The Forward claimed that President Trump referring to a “foreign virus” is “as dangerous as coronavirus itself” and “straight out of the Nazi playbook.”
• “Trump Is Using Pandemic Panic to Ramp Up Attacks on Migrants,” said The Nation.
• “Be Careful,” warned The Guardian. “Trump may exploit the coronavirus for authoritarian ends.”

If only. Had he done so a few months ago, I could take my family out to dinner instead of being stuck in my house.

In an emergency, we need to know whom we can trust for accurate information. President Trump sometimes exaggerates, dissembles, or outright lies, but so do journalists, usually because they want to attack the president. Worse, many journalists believe they should decide what we should know.

Whoever is right, our economy has collapsed, millions are unemployed, thousands are dead, and people are wearing masks just to go to the grocery store. You can make a strong case that if President Trump had taken “racist” measures sooner, we would have avoided the worst. Of course, if Joe Biden thinks “hysterical xenophobia” was the problem, Democrats would have made a terrible hash of things.

Journalists have power — more than most politicians. Read their stories from the last few months, and see how they used that power.

Nationalism isn’t “as dangerous as coronavirus.” Nationalism could have stopped the virus. I’m frustrated with President Trump, but I’m furious with these journalists.