If there’s one good thing to come out of President Trump’s dumb musings about using disinfectant injections as a treatment for the coronavirus, it will be that it brought the daily press briefings to a full stop.
Those hourslong grievance sessions ran out their utility about two weeks ago, which was precisely when journalists were calling on TV news outlets to stop airing them anyway.
Trump suggested Saturday night on Twitter that he’s finally tired of having the briefings. “What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately,” he wrote.
That the national media delight in deliberately misstating what actually happens at the briefings is something everyone should take for granted. That’s why we went for days on end hearing about how Trump had “recklessly touted an unproven drug,” when in fact, all he had done was accurately state that some doctors were claiming to have used chloroquine and seen positive results.
Even so, there was a time when it made sense for the president, along with administration health officials, to appear on camera every single day and update the public on what the hell was happening. They had initially sent mixed signals about the severity of the coronavirus, and then one day told us all we’d have to shut ourselves up at home, which, for millions of people, meant giving up their jobs.
We needed to know what the progress was on testing for the virus, whether there were enough medical supplies to deal with the climbing number of patients who needed hospitalization, and how close we were to a treatment or vaccine.
The answers to those questions have remained the same for weeks now. Testing capability is growing, though not at the rate that would allow every person who wants one to get one. There is still a shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare providers, though hospitals have so far managed the onslaught of infections. And we’re still months and months away from a vaccine.
Until the status of those things changes, we don’t really need to see Trump or Dr. Anthony Fauci coming on TV to tell us that they see the “light at the end of the tunnel.”
Until the status of those things change, no one is served by Trump wondering if our insides could use a wet nap or by a reporter asking an official if his or her language might be offensive.
It’s time to end the daily briefings.
