As Death Toll Mounts, Trump Brags That His TV Ratings Are As Big As 'The Bachelor'
Mary Papenfuss
HuffPostMarch 30, 2020
President
Donald Trump continued to display an unnervingly tone-deaf perspective on the mounting coronavirus threat in the U.S. by bragging about his TV ratings in not one — but five — tweets Sunday.
The former star of reality program “
The Apprentice” boasted that the “ratings” of his news conferences are as high as the finale of “
The Bachelor” and “
Monday Night Football.” That drives the “Lamestream Media ... CRAZY,” he wrote. Then, like a commercial for an upcoming TV show, Trump added: “See you at 5:00 P.M.!” — referring to Sunday’s press briefing.
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
Because the “Ratings” of my News Conferences etc. are so high, “Bachelor finale, Monday Night Football type numbers” according to the
@nytimes, the Lamestream Media is going CRAZY. “Trump is reaching too many people, we must stop him.” said one lunatic. See you at 5:00 P.M.!
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Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
“President Trump is a ratings hit. Since reviving the daily White House briefing Mr. Trump and his coronavirus updates have attracted an average audience of 8.5 million on cable news, roughly the viewership of the season finale of ‘The Bachelor.’ Numbers are continuing to rise...
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Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
·
17h
“President Trump is a ratings hit. Since reviving the daily White House briefing Mr. Trump and his coronavirus updates have attracted an average audience of 8.5 million on cable news, roughly the viewership of the season finale of ‘The Bachelor.’ Numbers are continuing to rise...
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
...On Monday, nearly 12.2 million people watched Mr. Trump’s briefing on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, according to Nielsen — ‘Monday Night Football’ numbers. Millions more are watching on ABC, CBS, NBC and online streaming sites, and the audience is expanding. On Monday, Fox News...
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Trump appeared to miss the key point of The New York Times article he quoted about the viewership ratings. The story Wednesday explored the increasing debate among networks about whether or not to cover the president’s briefings live because they’re
peppered with falsehoods and misleading information about COVID-19.
Trump’s followers on Twitter were stunned that the president would brag about his TV ratings as COVID-19 cases in the nation soared to
more than 140,000 and the death toll
neared 2,400 Sunday evening. Trump’s top health adviser Dr.
Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned Sunday that the
death toll could hit 200,000.
George Conway, spouse of White House counselor
Kellyanne Conway, quipped that the president should consider giving some ratings credit to the coronavirus pandemic — as fearful Americans tune in to see what, if anything, is being done to protect them. Princeton History Professor Kevin Kruse snidely noted that
110 million Americans tuned in to watch
Richard Nixon’s resignation speech.
George Conway@gtconway3d
I think someone in the press room today should ask Trump if he thinks he’s going to be able to maintain his TV ratings and whether he gives any credit to the virus
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George Conway@gtconway3d
ok but how are Trump’s TV ratings down there
https://twitter.com/hshaban/status/1244299633117052928 …
Hamza Shaban
✔@hshaban
New analysis of the outbreak in Florida, where experts say there is a “huge public health crisis” coming:
—cases double every 3 days
—acceleration mirrors NY
—only 40,000 tested
—no stay at home order https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/03/28/florida-coronavirus-cases-are-growing-fast-heres-what-that-means/ …
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“This is not about your ratings, Mr. President!” former Obama administration adviser
Valerie Jarrett tweeted. “This is not a reality tv show. For countless Americans, this is our reality.”
Valerie Jarrett
✔@ValerieJarrett
People are dying and everyone is scared. So many heroes are selflessly working to attend to our health and safety, and make essential goods and services available. This is not about your ratings , Mr. President!
https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1244320570315018240 …
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
“President Trump is a ratings hit. Since reviving the daily White House briefing Mr. Trump and his coronavirus updates have attracted an average audience of 8.5 million on cable news, roughly the viewership of the season finale of ‘The Bachelor.’ Numbers are continuing to rise...
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Even Brit Hume of Fox News, who often has the president’s back, was caught off guard.
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Brit Hume
✔@brithume
Why bother to tweet about this, of all things?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1244320570315018240 …
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
“President Trump is a ratings hit. Since reviving the daily White House briefing Mr. Trump and his coronavirus updates have attracted an average audience of 8.5 million on cable news, roughly the viewership of the season finale of ‘The Bachelor.’ Numbers are continuing to rise...
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Jake Tapper
✔@jaketapper
Dr. Fauci told me today that the coronavirus could kill anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 Americans, and infect millions more. Americans.
The president is tweeting about TV ratings for press conferences.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1244320570315018240 …
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
“President Trump is a ratings hit. Since reviving the daily White House briefing Mr. Trump and his coronavirus updates have attracted an average audience of 8.5 million on cable news, roughly the viewership of the season finale of ‘The Bachelor.’ Numbers are continuing to rise...
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TrivWorks
✔@TrivWorks
“All we have to fear...is low ratings”
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Adam Parkhomenko
✔@AdamParkhomenko
America First is the Trump campaign slogan
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