Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) took to Twitter to rip into the media over their coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Some in our media can’t contain their glee and delight in reporting that the U.S. has more #CoronaVirus cases than #China,” Rubio tweeted, adding, “Beyond being grotesque, its bad journalism. We have NO IDEA how many cases China really has but without any doubt its significantly more than why they admit to.”
Some in our media can’t contain their glee & delight in reporting that the U.S. has more #CoronaVirus cases than #China
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 29, 2020
Beyond being grotesque,its bad journalism
We have NO IDEA how many cases China really has but without any doubt its significantly more than why they admit to
Rubio faced considerable backlash over his tweet:
https://twitter.com/molly_knight/status/1244291238586548224
Senator, either you have no clue what you're talking about or you're being a jerk. I have friends in this industry who have the virus. We have to make exceptionally challenging calls about sending reporters into hot spots or places where they could get it. Do better.
— Sam Stein (@samstein) March 29, 2020
Rubio is not the only politician to criticize the media for their response to the outbreak. President Donald Trump also took aim at the media, as IJR previously reported.
“The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant,” Trump tweeted.
Rubio’s tweet comes shortly after the United States became the country with the most coronavirus cases in the world.
The total number of cases has reportedly climbed to 136,880 while the death toll has reached 2,409.
Government officials are working to reduce the impact the coronavirus is having on the nation. A $2.2 trillion coronavirus aid package was recently signed into law by Trump, as IJR previously reported.
The bill will provide financial aid to families, businesses, health care personnel, and other industries severely affected by the coronavirus.
It will also provide additional unemployment benefits as the number of Americans filing for aid reached 3.28 million as of March 28.
Governors are also working to mitigate the effects at the state level. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) has announced he will be postponing the state’s presidential primary, as IJR previously reported.
The primary will be held on June 23 as opposed to April 28.
New York has become the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis with the most cases out of any state across the nation.
The state’s death toll has reached 678.
Cuomo said that the president has approved four additional temporary hospitals for the city.
