The New York Times is taking heat for misleading readers over what President Trump actually said during a Coronavirus speech to state governors, the full quote of which was, ironically enough, shared by a Times correspondent on Twitter.
In an article published on Monday, the Times claimed President Trump simply told governors that “Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves.”
Additionally, a Times editorial board writer claimed Trump said governors ‘are on their own,’ which isn’t actually what he said at all, as reflected by his full quote.
Trump told governors this morning they are on their own:
“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Mr. Trump told the governors during the conference call, a recording of which was shared with The New York Times. https://t.co/K0sont7MBc— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) March 16, 2020
Here’s the screenshot of a segment from the Times article:
But here’s the full quote from President Trump, with emphasis added on the part not included in the Times article:
“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves. We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.”
The full quote was, ironically enough, shared on Twitter by a Times correspondent, although as of this writing it wasn’t in the article itself:
NEWS: Trump told the governors on conf call this am that they should get their own ventilators, per recording of call
“We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves"
More here, including his prediction on what more the FED may do >>>>https://t.co/bNWWRVubzE
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) March 16, 2020
So why would one Times writer claim on Twitter that Trump said governors ‘are on their own,’ as if the federal government isn’t backing them, when clearly that’s not what he said according to another Times correspondent?
“We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.”
literally the next sentence https://t.co/R3pOPovG0E
— Ben McDonald (@Bmac0507) March 16, 2020
“Conservatives were swift in their criticism of Gay’s tweet, with some mentioning a slip-up from early this month when she mistakenly claimed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg could have given a million dollars to every American with the $500 million he spent on his failed 2020 presidential campaign,” reported the Washington Examiner.
The truncated quote triggered an unprecedented backlash on social media.
It seems @MaraGay's reading comprehension is no better than her arithmetic.
Here's the full quote: “…the equipment—try getting it yourselves. We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.” https://t.co/D0cyjE2VhN
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) March 16, 2020
It is irresponsible to characterize his remarks this way. https://t.co/dIxSdG90C7
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) March 16, 2020
BS! According to the article, this is what he told. Ignore the propaganda coming from Little Miss Marx. pic.twitter.com/Q1UB5iDliR
— Whit (@whitforreal) March 16, 2020
— Abe Froman™ (@WerIstDeinPa) March 16, 2020
Don’t be this person, Julie. It’s unethical. Use the full quote. pic.twitter.com/IOxNvQqRQ8
— Jessica Fletcher (@heckyessica) March 16, 2020
The backlash is so severe that it’s actually plausible the Times might issue a correction to that article, but don’t count on it.
This is why you shouldn’t let the media – or anyone else for that matter – do all the thinking for you, and instead gather data from multiple sources and draw your own conclusions. Think critically for yourself and don’t solely let anyone do it for you.
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