As Nicole and Andrea have already covered, Trump had a nasty exchange with a reporter – CBS’s Weijia Jiang, a Chinese-born, American citizen – during today’s press conference, one that sprung out of an honest, but challenging, question that should have been answered with respect.
Americans are getting damned tired of Trump beating up on reporters and ex-presidents during a time of fear and worry across the nation.
To set up what happened, for those who haven’t followed along, we have a tweet that explains the situation and how it evolved:
President Trump lashing out at @weijia [1] for pressing for answers about the nearly depleted national stockpile. Important exchange. https://t.co/GKjgoEomzZ [2]
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 3, 2020 [3]
Again, Americans are just furious with this abuse, and that’s what it has been reduced to, nothing but abuse:
Misogynist and Racist in Chief Trump attacked a minority female reporter and called her “nasty”. Par for the course for him. #TrumpPressConf [4] #TrumpPressConference [5] #COVID19 [6] #COVID [7] #CoronaVirusUpdates [8]
— Ron Waxman 🏳️🌈 (@RonWaxman) April 3, 2020 [9]
It is always a woman reporter who gets the most cutting remarks. Jim Acosta can get yelled at, but generally doesn’t get the personal insults that cut so sharply.
President Trump lashing out at @weijia [1] for pressing for answers about the nearly depleted national stockpile. Important exchange. https://t.co/GKjgoEomzZ [2]
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 3, 2020 [3]
It should be highlighted that the reporter, Weijia Jiang is a senior White House correspondent, one of the elite, a respected woman of color, and Trump seems to reserve a wave of special dripping anger toward women of color. Trump loves white women immigrants:
No surprise, it was a WOC. His favorite to attack. 🤬
— Dana LaRue Park⁷ (박대이나) (@DanaLaRuePark) April 3, 2020 [10]
Notice that the Right will cover for him. I don’t know if it is the same reporter who noted the Kung flu, but in the right’s mind, that makes Trump’s blowback justified. This episode makes her claim even more credible. Oh, and “chick,” – professional doing her job.
Ah the same chick who made up the King-Flu comment. I’m shocked.
— 👸🏻 (@LittleMsOpinion) April 3, 2020 [11]
Trump prefers a much more fawning, almost worshipful tone:
Turns out legitimate questions to uncover truth is a “nasty tone”
— BadNewsB (@TheBadNewsB) April 3, 2020 [12]
This is really what it gets down to. He has no other tools to handle the pressure of the job, nor the crisis. He just rages and intimidates his way through these, which his followers believe to be “tough” when it’s actually a weakness.
THREATS and INTIMIDATION……this is how Trump operates…and…..anger and threats push back on legitimate questions…..which must be answered…anger is a TOOL….he uses it a lot to deflect and stop the conversation.
— Teresa Myers (@TeresaM88614471) April 3, 2020 [13]
Yep.
****
Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom