New York National Guard responds to Coronavirus
Someone I know was down to three rolls of toilet paper last week, so he went to the store on Friday to get more, and surprise, couldn’t find any. It never occurred to him over the last few weeks to stock up. Guess which news channel he watches for Coronavirus information? Right wing Fox News viewers and Donald Trump fans (big overlap there) seemed especially caught off guard late last week, as the facts on the ground regarding Coronavirus (a/k/a COVID-19) finally destroyed their narratives.
Heretofore, Fox News, Trump and his administration officials were severely downplaying the seriousness of the virus. Trump infamously called Coronavirus, or Democratic criticism of his handling of the crisis, “a new hoax” as late as February 28. This is after Trump had been briefed about the virus back in January, had stated in an interview on January 22 that “we have it totally under control,”and spent the next two months apparently just wishing the problem would go away, because he feared the virus would hurt the stock market and his approval rating. Trump even enlisted Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in January to say that the spread of Coronavirus in China will “help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America.” Since then, the number of Coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. keeps rising, the stock market has plummeted many percentage points, and we’re getting the first glimpses at a U.S. economic slowdown that could turn into a full-fledged recession. But what could have been Trump’s moment to shine, by taking swift and effective action, devolved into typical conservative Republican laissez-faire failure of government, and even conspiracy theories. As a result, Americans are less safe, and so is Donald Trump’s presidency.
Likewise, Fox News, which either gives the Trump administration its talking points, receives them from the Trump team, coordinates with the Trump White House, or all three, has been dangerously downplaying the Coronavirus risk. For example, Fox News program host Sean Hannity said that people are faking concern just to “bludgeon Trump,” Jeanine Piro repeated the Fox News narrative that coronavirus is no worse than the flu, and Lou Dobbs charged that “the national left-wing media [are] playing up fears of the Coronavirus.” In one extreme case, Trish Regan, the host of “Trish Regan Primetime,” claimed in an on-air rant that “this is yet another attempt to impeach the president.” When Regan’s show was taken off the air a few days later, Regan offered this absurd explanation:
I want to let everyone know that Trish Regan Primetime is now on hiatus. FBN has taken prudent steps to limit staffing levels and is prioritizing its coverage during market hours. I fully support this decision — we all must to do our part to keep our colleagues safe.
The phenomenon of Coronavirus denial at Fox News and from the Trump White House is known as a “Bubble.” We saw the same thing happen on Election Night 2012, as Karl Rove had a “meltdown” when Fox News declared President Barack Obama the winner of the state of Ohio, and thus the winner of the election. Rove insisted on repeating Obama’s opponent Willard Mitt Romney‘s denials that he had lost Ohio, despite analysts’ careful scientific projections, and he forced Fox News host Megyn Kelly to take her infamous “walk of shame” to Fox’s “Decision Desk” only to hear that the desk staffers were “quite comfortable with the call in Ohio” for Obama that Fox had reported on air. On that occasion, Fox News viewers were merely upset by the subsequent reality of Obama’s victory that was already being aired by other news organizations. This time, with the Coronavirus, the possible consequences of being caught off guard by fake Republican narratives are much more serious.
Photo by The National Guard, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/Zp8PS7
