HBO’s Bill Maher criticized the media’s coverage of the coronavirus, alleging that news outlets have caused additional panic by the way they are covering the pandemic.
On his show Friday night, Maher speculated the way the media is covering the pandemic could result in President Trump’s reelection in November.
“Now that we’re starting to see some hope in all this,” he began. “Don’t hope-shame me. The problem with nonstop doom-and-gloom is it gives Trump the chance to play the optimist. And optimists tend to win American elections.”
Bringing up President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous quote, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself,” Maher followed it up with, “As full of shit as he is, I could see Trump riding that into a second term, and then, there will be no hope left for you to shame.”
“If this insanity happens again, news sources have to rein it in. Everyone knows corona is no walk in the park, because you literally can’t walk in the park,” he said. “But at some point, the daily drumbeat of depression and terror veers into panic porn. Enough with the ‘life will never be the same’ headlines.”
Maher went on to ridicule specific headlines from the Washington Post and the New York Times, which he viewed as unnecessarily frightening and sensationalist. Some of the headlines he singled out included dramatic pull quotes such as, “It feels like a war zone,” and “It’s terrifying.”
