Marco Rubio ignites firestorm after calling media to task for ‘grotesque’ bad coronavirus journalism

Senator Marco Rubio ignited a firestorm on the left after he slammed the liberal media for its “grotesque” reporting on the number of reported coronavirus cases.

The Florida Republican called out the media for the “glee & delight” in reporting that the U.S. had surpassed China in confirmed COVID-19 cases, questioning whether the data being released by the Chinese government could even be trusted.

(Image: CNBC screenshot)

“Some in our media can’t contain their glee & delight in reporting that the U.S. has more #CoronaVirus cases than #China,” Rubio tweeted on Sunday. “Beyond being grotesque, it’s bad journalism.”

The Florida lawmaker, an outspoken critic of China, also suggested that the number of coronavirus cases in that country was likely to be “significantly more than why they admit to.”

The global pandemic, which originated in Wuhan, affected the highest number of people in China and Italy for a time before the U.S. gained the unfortunate first place ranking for the most reported cases in the world. As the outbreak spread, and more tests became available to confirm the presence of the illness, the numbers in the U.S. reached over 143,000 cases as of Monday morning, with over 2,500 deaths.

China confirmed just over 82,000 confirmed cases, according to numbers reported by Johns Hopkins, and about 3,300 deaths.

Rubio’s tweet set off a wave of responses filled with rage that the senator would suggest the media enjoyed reporting the rising U.S. numbers versus those in China.

Many more blasted Rubio, citing personal stories of sobering reports and friends dealing with the illness. Some begrudgingly admitted that the senator may have a point, however, about the questionable numbers from China.

But Rubio’s take, that the media is reporting whatever China says, was backed up by others like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin agreed with Rubio and called out the “many classless, immature, agenda-driven jerks” in the media.

Others also came to Rubio’s defense, with a few pointing to a tweet from GQ correspondent Julia Ioffe.

And a new report indicated that residents of Wuhan are estimating the number of deaths is much higher than what China has been reporting.

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Frieda Powers

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