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President Trump on Wednesday mocked critics of his daily coronavirus press briefings, accusing the media and Democrats of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“The Radical Left Democrats have gone absolutely crazy that I am doing daily Presidential News Conferences. They actually want me to STOP!” Trump tweeted. “They used to complain that I am not doing enough of them, now they complain that I ‘shouldn’t be allowed to do them.’”
“They tried to shame the Fake News Media into not covering them, but that effort failed because the ratings are through the roof, according to, of all sources, the Failing New York Times, ‘Monday Night Football, Bachelor Finale’ type numbers (& sadly, they get it $FREE).”
He added: “Trump Derangement Syndrome!”
The president’s tweet comes as he has received regular criticism for holding his daily coronavirus briefings from the James S. Brady press briefing room at the White House. His briefings typically include Vice President Pence and members of the coronavirus task force, like Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx.
Last month, some critics said networks should stop airing the briefings, despite the fact that prior to the coronavirus crisis, the mainstream media regularly complained that neither the president nor his press secretary delivered traditional daily press briefings.
The New York Times, last month, warned that the president’s briefings “could be a dangerous thing.”
SUCCESS OF TRUMP'S DAILY CORONAVIRUS BRIEFINGS HAS MEDIA CHANGED TUNE, CRITICS SAY
“President Trump is a ratings hit, and some journalists and public health experts say that could be a dangerous thing,” New York Times media reporter Michael Grynbaum wrote last month. “The audience is expanding even as Mr. Trump has repeatedly delivered information that doctors and public health officials have called ill-informed, misleading or downright wrong.”
Rachel Maddow took things even further, urging television networks not to air White House updates on the coronavirus pandemic, claiming "misinformation" will kill people.
Meanwhile, the president on Wednesday officially named his re-election campaign’s national spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, as the new White House press secretary, replacing Stephanie Grisham.
Grisham did not actually hold traditional press briefings in the job, communicating instead via interviews, statements and tweets. White House briefings, long stalled, have only returned in the form of the near-daily coronavirus task force briefings that Trump himself often leads.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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