White House counselor Kellyanne Conway called out grandstanding reporters over their non-professional critiques of the administration’s coronavirus response.
Conway clashed with reporters during a White House news conference Friday as she asserted that the coronavirus is being contained in the U.S. and testing is being ramped up across the country.
(Source: CSPAN)
After attempting to answer a question about stopping the spread of coronavirus, Conway pushed back against CBS News’ Paula Reid for contending that the virus, which has claimed 17 lives in the U.S. as of Friday, is spreading.
“You talked about how the administration initially had this contained, but during that time, why didn’t the administration send out more tests and work to get hospitals prepared?” Reid asked on during Friday’s briefing.
“I mean even today the state of Florida is saying they can’t test everyone per the administration guidelines because they don’t have enough tests,” she added.
Conway began to respond, explaining that Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar had reported that the administration is “ramping up” its response.
“But why now, why didn’t they do it while it was contained?” Reid interrupted.
“It is being contained. Do you not think it’s being contained?” Conway asked.
“I’m not a doctor,” Reid smugly replied.
“You said it’s not being contained, so are you a doctor or a lawyer when you’re saying it’s not being contained?” Conway shot back. “You just said something that’s not true.”
Later in the briefing, another reporter wanted to know why more people in the U.S. are not being tested for COVID-19.
“There are more than 300 million people in the country though, shouldn’t we test more than a million?” he asked.
“Well you’re not a doctor either, that’s very clear,” Conway replied.
Liberals quickly found a way to distort the remarks by President Donald Trump’s counselor, raising the alarm on social media that the administration is incompetent and claiming Conway declared the virus has been “contained.”
.@gop liar Kellyanne Conway says the coronavirus in the US is contained. This is such a blatant and dangerous lie. She should resign immediately for lying to the American people about such a serious issue. Shameful republicans. #CoronavirusUSA #Covid19usa
— Cristiano2k (@Cristiano2KHD) March 7, 2020
Hey @KellyannePolls & @larry_kudlow – As of today, according to CDC, COVID-19 has been reported in 19 states. Number keeps going up.
You both keep saying it’s “contained.” Do you know what that words means? If yes, exactly where is it contained?
A virus won’t bend to a lie.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) March 7, 2020
Kellyanne Conway and Larry Kudlow say Coronavirus is “contained” at 200 cases. This is the kind of talk that causes great unease in the markets. The Trump White House is still engaged in magical thinking. Let’s see if the number stays around 200. https://t.co/kb18KLzWR5
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) March 6, 2020
Reid posted a clip of her report on the White House briefing, telling the CBS News anchor that Conway “really could not give me an answer” and “attacked me for not being a doctor.”
ME: Why didn’t they [send out #coronavirus tests and prepare hospitals] while it was contained? Get ahead of it?
@KellyannePolls: It is being contained. And, do you not think it’s being contained?MORE: https://t.co/EDtr5CEyFR pic.twitter.com/CuqXMjsESP
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) March 6, 2020
The liberal media continues to distort statements and facts, apparently hoping that fanning the flames for a nationwide panic is a great way to attack the president.
While many medical experts have said that the virus will certainly spread, they have also been clear that there is no reason for the hysteria.
ER doctors urge public to calm down, say coronavirus death rate greatly over-hyped https://t.co/lRReY45oUt pic.twitter.com/0ffXAAIpSV
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) March 5, 2020
And while critics of the president continue to point to new cases and the latest deaths from the virus, the public is missing key factors in the examples, such as the age of the victims and their health before becoming infected, among other causes.
— Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) March 7, 2020
Both of the men who died in Florida as a result of the coronavirus were reportedly 70 years old and had traveled internationally recently.
BREAKING: Florida has reported its first coronavirus deaths, a man in his 70s who had been sick in Santa Rosa County and a man in his 70s in Lee County. Both had traveled internationally.
— Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) March 7, 2020
“People have to remain calm,” Trump said during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia after signing an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill to combat the disease. “It will end.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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