The Guardian reports:
After more than a month of near-daily White House coronavirus press briefings, Donald Trump stayed behind closed doors on Saturday after advisers reportedly warned the president that his appearances were hurting his campaign. Trump himself referenced his absence when he wrote on Twitter that the briefings are “not worth the time & effort”. The president wrote the tweet on Saturday evening, when he would usually be taking the podium to address journalists.
In recent weeks Trump has used the briefings to dole out unproven and debunked medical advice, suggesting that things like sunlight and an anti-malaria drug are cures to Covid-19, often causing his own medical experts to try to correct the record. But on Friday Trump surprised observers by taking no questions and stalking out of the room. It is unclear whether Trump can stay away from the podium, or whether his instincts as a reality television star will kick in and the show will go on.
What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020
Damn. You finally must’ve heard the whole world laughing at you if you ended up at I didn’t want to be on your stoopid teevee show anyway jerks.
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) April 25, 2020
It’s only naturally to expect hostile questions when you treat people with so much hostility.
Trump calls the press “the enemy of the people,” then complains when they don’t act like his friends.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) April 25, 2020
Trump bragged about the ratings his coronavirus news conferences were getting in the middle of a pandemic and even compared them to the finale of The Bachelor. But as soon as he makes a complete fool of himself telling Americans to inject disinfectants into their blood, he quits.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) April 25, 2020
Yippeee! You finally figured out the more Americans see of you the more contempt they have
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) April 25, 2020