President Trump lashed out at critics of his coronavirus response Monday, complaining he’s been “brutalized” in the media and using his perch from the White House briefing room to play a campaign-style tape of people praising his response.
Mr. Trump, who consumes a lot of TV news, stood to the side while he forced reporters to watch clips of pundits downplaying the risk to the U.S. as the virus ripped through China.
Others on the tape praised the president’s move to restrict certain travel from China, saying he overcame the doubters. It also featured Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praising the administration’s responsiveness as they pleaded for more equipment.
“We got them a lot of ventilators and no one’s complaining,” Mr. Trump said after clip.
Mr. Trump said the unusual tape, which lasted one or two minutes and comes as the president seeks reelection, was “pieced together” by people in the White House and he’s got even better segments in reserve.
Mr. Trump seemed particularly set off by a New York Times story on Sunday that said the president was warned about the virus early in the year but wasted valuable time in late January and February.
The press briefing had an unusual tone from the start, with Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top National Institutes of Health scientist, coming to the podium to clarify remarks to CNN that resulted in Mr. Trump retweeting a post that said “#FireFauci.”
The president said he won’t fire the doctor.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly pointed to his decision on Jan. 31 to bar foreign nationals who’d been in China for the last 14 days, saying the outbreak would have been much worse.
“They’re way off, we were way ahead of schedule,” Mr. Trump said of his critics. “I think I’ve educated a lot of people as to the press.”
“I don’t mind being criticized,” he added, as he fumed over unflattering stories.
He later complained about former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, his likely November foe, for criticizing his China ban.
Mr. Trump also recounted his push to get the National Guard and military resources to New York and California and said he overruled voices who said closing the economy was a bridge too far.
“Some people wished they never closed it down,” Mr. Trump said.
The administration’s response, however, was dogged early on by stutter steps in testing.
One early test failed and red tape kept labs across the country from making their own, forcing the administration to scramble to loosen the rules and get diagnostics out.
Critics complained the country was “flying blind” as the virus spread, making it difficult to pinpoint and isolate cases.
The coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan, China, in December and killed thousands in East Asia before battering Europe and the U.S.
Nearly 575,000 people have contracted the virus in the U.S, and over 23,000 have died. About 330 million people live in the U.S.
