THE DAILY NEWSLETTER  - MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Jon Karl

Senator Marco Rubio sent a tweet about media coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic on Sunday that kicked off a storm of criticism

Rubio said media "can't contain their glee & delight" when reporting bad news about the coronavirus. It's a sentiment that has been shared by others on the Trump right, on the underlying, persistent premise that the media is using the pandemic as a weapon against Trump.

Among the many journalists answering, it was Jon Karl of ABC News that had the most notable response, when he put the senator on blast during Monday's The View.

"It is outrageous. It is wrong. It is hurtful," said Karl. "Who are you talking about, Senator?"

Karl noted the tweet came just after CBS had learned of a colleague's death from coronavirus, and that NBC News had lost someone as well. "Who does Marco Rubio think is taking joy and glee at more people being sick?" he asked.

Calling out the gross sentiment shared by Rubio was important for every journalist. Doing so in a venue that reaches past political insiders made Jon Karl's answer a media winner.
MEDIA LOSER:
Sara Carter
There has been a recent phenomenon of figures on the right tweeting bad info about coronavirus and then Twitter taking action to either suspend the account or have the tweets deleted. It happened with Laura Ingraham and before that, to Rudy Giuliani.

In the latest, Fox News contributor Sara Carter deleted a tweet Monday pushing a conspiracy theory that the media is exaggerating the burden on hospitals from the outbreak.

Carter's tweet included the hashtag #FilmYourHospital, as well as a retweet of a candidate running a quixotic campaign to unseat Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California. Hospitals are "very quiet & EMPTY," it said. "We are not being told the truth. Why??"

The tweet was deleted, but it wasn't the only instance of Carter suggesting reports of hospitals under strain are fake news. On her account today, she is still promoting a clip of her appearance with Fox's Steve Hilton where she likewise brought up the "Film Your Hospital" social media tag and suggested that the reports are overblown.

Joining the cadre of those being rebuked for disinformation is bad enough. Not learning from it? That's a media loser moment.

The A-Block

Angry Phone Calls

President Donald Trump spoke with the hosts of Fox & Friends on Monday morning by phone, and he wasn't in a great mood.

During his call, he referred to Speaker Nancy Pelosi as as "sick puppy," and said she is controlled by "the radical left." He also suggested his administration could take over her district and "clean it up."

He also got snippy with co-host Brian Kilmeade -- and, somehow, Germany -- when asked about Russia.

Although he did spare some praise for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Moving on from Easter

Dr. Anthony Fauci talked with CNN's John Berman Monday about the government moving the estimated end-date of the current set of social distancing policies from Trump's much maligned Easter deadline to the end of April. 

Fauci explained that Trump responded with some resignation about the date, but that when they brought the data to him, the President readily understood the importance.

"He looked at them, he understood them and he just shook his head and said ‘I guess we got to do it," Fauci said to Berman.

Also on New Day

CNN's Alisyn Camerota interviewed a 42-year-old mother of three who is recovering from coronavirus after an horrific ordeal.

Heather Bauer, who has run marathons and is a healthy nutritionist, was exposed at a dinner party nearly a month ago. Her description of the ordeal, what she suffered, as well as the fact that she had no underlying medical condition and is young and fit, makes this interview particularly important and revealling.

It is a must watch, and frankly should be shared with as many people as possible as a remedy against misinformation about the seriousness of this pandemic and the illness itself.

Good News

Volunteers across the world are sewing masks for health care workers as hospitals are facing looming shortages of personal protective equipment amid the coronavirus outbreak.

From a sewing effort at Cornell University to an interior decorator in Pennsylvania, to a Facebook user in Antwerp, people are stepping up to make masks.

Bad News

Macy’s announced on Monday that it will furlough the majority of its 130,000 employees due to the “heavy toll” the coronavirus has had on business.

Poll News

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 15% of Bernie Sanders supporters jumping to Trump, not Joe Biden, in the likely event that Biden faces Trump in November.

Tiger News

Here are 5 things you might not know about the wacky, dangerous, and utterly surreal cast of Netflix’s viral hit documentary show, Tiger King.

 

Must-See Clip(s) of the Day

We Are With You

Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort arrived in New York City on Monday morning as part of the response to the Covid-19 crisis.

Many photos and videos were shared of the ship as it entered the city, passing the Statue of Liberty and the skyline as citizens inadvisedly watched from the shores. It was a dramatic but quiet scene. Somber, but also promising hope.

“The last time that this great hospital ship was here was in the wake of 9/11, where she served as respite and comfort for our first responders working around the clock,” said Rear Adm. John Mustin. “Our message to New Yorkers — now your Navy has returned, and we are with you, committed in this fight.”

Watch the videos and a slideshow of the sure-to-be-iconic images here.

Links We Like

The Federalist’s Dangerous Coronavirus Trutherism
via The Federalist
We Have a Difficult Five Weeks ahead of Us
- via National Review
Andrew Cuomo During Covid-19 Crisis Is Same As Ever, Except That People Like Him
- via Washington Post
Investigate China's Coronavirus Actions And Make Beijing Pay For Lives And Billions Lost
- Sen. Josh Hawley, via Fox News
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