President Donald Trump clearly loves the spectacle of holding daily coronavirus briefings during the course of the pandemic, even when he has no actual news to deliver, but many of his allies fear they’re doing more harm than good.
One dependable defender of the president, the Wall Street Journal editorial board, made a plea this week for the president to dial back the combative and boastful performances, inspiring a rebuke on Twitter from Trump himself. And on Friday, the Journal sent out another missive in the dispute dripping with condescension.
“Thanks for reading, sir, and we agree the briefings are an excellent way to communicate directly with Americans,” the board wrote in reply to his tweet, which defended the briefings by citing their ratings. Continue reading.