MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said news networks should not air the daily White House coronavirus briefings, arguing President Trump has used them to share "misinformation" about the pandemic.
Maddow went through a list of misstatements the president has made during the briefings and said that, were it up to her, she wouldn't air them.
She showed a clip Friday of the president discussing a drug intended to treat malaria that could cure the coronavirus, although more testing is needed. Trump said the drug, hydroxychloroquine, will be made available “almost immediately,” but health officials have since provided a more cautionary report.
“The president loves saying things like, you know, ‘There’s a drug we’ve got, it’s very effective. It approved already. Everybody is going to get it.’ He loves saying things like that because that would be a lovely thing to be able to tell people,” Maddow explained. "Unless, of course, that’s not true, and telling people a fairy tale like that is cruel and harmful and needlessly diverting and wildly irresponsible from anyone in any leadership role."
Maddow went on to dissect Trump's remarks on Google, when he claimed the tech giant was working to develop a website to "determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location," which surprised Google officials. Additionally, she referenced the announcement that the U.S. Navy was sending medical ships to provide treat coronavirus patients "in the next week or so" — despite the fact that the Navy said the ships aren't ready, according to NBC News.
“If it were up to me, and it’s not, I would stop putting those briefings on live TV. Not out of spite, but because it’s misinformation. If the president does end up saying anything true, you can run it as tape. But if he keeps lying like he has been every day on stuff this important, all of us should stop broadcasting it. Honestly, it’s going to cost lives,” she concluded.
