In a moment that stood out of step with the past several years, President Trump opened his latest press conference on the coronavirus response with praise for the media.
“I want to thank you all for being here, and I have to say, I think, with social distancing that the media has been much nicer,” said Trump to the White House press pool on Thursday. “I don’t know what it is, all these empty, these in-between chairs … but it’s so much nicer, but I shouldn’t say that because you’ll get me.”
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Trump has spent much of his presidency fighting with the members of the press who have criticized his language, demeanor, and approach to diplomacy. Frustration between the two camps boiled over in July 2018 when the White House stopped giving daily press conferences after the resignation of former White House press secretary Sean Spicer.
The president has been criticized throughout the coronavirus spread for his continued insistence on labeling the disease the “Chinese coronavirus,” noting the believed origin of the outbreak. In a show of solidarity, CNN’s Dana Bash, a consistent Trump critic, backed his new tone in press conferences and urged viewers to “remember we are all in this together.”
