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Media Deliberately Distort Trump’s Wuhan Virus Advice To Governors About Ventilator Purchases

ventilators comment from Trump

Breathless reporters tweeted the first half of Trump’s message to several governors but conveniently left off the full context of the situation.

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On a Monday morning conference call with state governors, President Donald Trump addressed the possibility of a shortage of hospital ventilators as the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak spreads across the United States. But anyone tuned in to the media echo chamber would assume Trump’s instructions were nothing more than “Sorry, get your own ventilators.”

In fact, that’s exactly how the Daily Beast headlined its story on the conference call.

Breathless reporters tweeted the first half of Trump’s message to several governors but conveniently left off the rest of his statement and the full context of the situation, ensuring many “wows” and retweets.

https://twitter.com/juliebosman/status/1239598527803768833

New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay interpreted Trump’s message as “on your own,” ignoring the actual quote from Trump that included, “We will be backing you.”

The ignored half of Trump’s message was about how efforts to secure ventilators should be a group effort between states and the federal government. “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself,” he said.

At a Monday afternoon press conference, Trump elaborated on the fastest way for states to order and obtain their own ventilators, without an extra layer of federal funding red tape getting in the way.

Of course, speed is paramount in the current pandemic, and Trump explained to governors that ventilators would arrive “faster by getting them on their own.”

The full statement makes much more sense as to why the president would recommend governors reach out to suppliers directly, but it also doesn’t earn Twitter journalists as many of those irresistible likes and retweets.