Conservatives blasted New York Times editor Mara Gay after she tweeted a truncated version of President Trump’s remarks to governors on the coronavirus pandemic.
While the president was discussing state efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic with governors on Monday, he suggested they seek certain medical equipment from wherever source it is available rather than solely relying on the federal government.
“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves. 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 in a conference call at the White House. “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.”
Mara Gay, a member of the newspaper’s editorial board, shared the story on social media along with just the first half of Trump’s quote, failing to provide important context to the conversation.
“Trump told governors this morning they are on their own: ‘Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,’ Mr. Trump told the governors during the conference call, a recording of which was shared with The New York Times,” she tweeted.
Conservatives were swift in their criticism of Gay’s tweet, with some mentioning a slip-up from early this month when she mistakenly claimed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg could have given a million dollars to every American with the $500 million he spent on his failed 2020 presidential campaign.
It seems @MaraGay‘s reading comprehension is no better than her arithmetic.
Here’s the full quote: “…the equipment—try getting it yourselves. We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.” https://t.co/D0cyjE2VhN
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) March 16, 2020
It is irresponsible to characterize his remarks this way. https://t.co/dIxSdG90C7
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) March 16, 2020
Any reporter using half of a quote and refusing to use appropriate context is doing so maliciously.
Here’s the rest of @realDonaldTrump‘s quote : “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.” https://t.co/qdeWKTVaxE
— Erin Perrine (@ErinMPerrine) March 16, 2020
This is an incomplete quote, Mara. Don’t be as disingenuous as you are as bad at math.
Here’s the second half: “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.” https://t.co/ssPbyCrWna
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 16, 2020
It’s one thing to be a bad reporter – it’s another to be a liar. Shame on you, @MaraGay https://t.co/8m3Q2PUGL9
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) March 16, 2020
