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‘Trump’s Chernobyl’: Media Wuhan Virus Hysteria Stokes Public Panic
The Federalist ^ | 03/11/2020 | Joy Pullmann

Posted on 03/11/2020 8:31:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Since the coronavirus came on the horizon, media figures have been stoking panic, leading to mass shortages of basic health supplies, business travel cancellations, and market drops, all while the confirmed disease number hiked yesterday to around 0.000002 percent of the U.S. population.

So far, U.S. cases of the basic seasonal flu outnumber coronavirus cases by a factor of 45,000 (using federal stats for this year’s flu and real-time tracking of coronavirus confirmations). The flu season has even been especially bad this year, with between 20,000 and 52,000 deaths, compared to 29 so far from coronavirus.

According to infectious disease expert Dr. Paul Carson, who works for the North Dakota public health department, the flu appears to be about five times more contagious than coronavirus, which means containment is possible, although especially for the elderly coronavirus appears to have higher death rates. Especially for the young, however, the flu is still more dangerous than coronavirus in the United States, said the U.S. surgeon general Monday.

Surgeon general: “If you are a child or young adult, you are more likely to die from the flu, if you get it, than you are to die from coronavirus. So, there is something about being young that is protective.” https://t.co/mwpcexQZkh pic.twitter.com/IepUqFDQXH

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 9, 2020

Yet did this year’s flu “pandemic” tank the stock market, get members of Congress on the House floor wearing gas masks, cause Americans suffering from the common cold and post-surgery pain to find no relief due to empty shelves at stores, and have the president stampeding to burn untold taxpayer dollars on “economic stimulus” amid decades of federal debt and deficits? No.

As Wuhan virus trickled to U.S. shores, U.S. media have hyped Armageddon to, well, a fever pitch. But so far, the actual health effects have been minimal, while the social and economic effects have been serious. What accounts for the mismatch between hype and reality?

A major factor is open media cheerleading for stock market crashes and economic downturns. Not only is it clear that corporate media can’t be trusted to provide accurate information about an issue of public concern, it’s clear they don’t care about public health or the economy. They care about destroying Trump, and if they have to ruin the U.S. economy to do that, that’s what they’ll do.

On March 9, the “Politico Nightly Coronavirus Special Edition” email’s subject line was “America held hostage by coronavirus.” “The world is drowning itself in hand sanitizer and suffocating itself with fear,” hyperventilated reporters Renuka Rayasam and Sudeep Reddy. Now, why might that be, journos? Well, consider a few examples of what passes for news about a potential public health concern that only appears to matter this much because of the negative effects it could have on a president the media hate.

Washington Post columnist Brian Klaas claimed in a March 9 column, “The coronavirus is Trump’s Chernobyl.”

alt

Chernobyl was the explosion of a nuclear reactor in the Soviet Union. Naturally, the communist government hushed it up and thus people went on with their lives instead of evacuating areas contaminated with radiation. This caused an estimated 9,000 to 16,000 deaths across Europe plus 3.5 million radiation-exposure-attributed cancers, birth defects, and other serious maladies just in nearby Ukraine.

It’s funny that the Washington Post seems to be publishing no articles calling the Wuhan province-originated disease China’s Chernobyl. The comparison is, indeed, a much better fit for China than for the United States. That communist government also kept the existence and spread of the Wuhan virus a secret, which led to tens of thousands more cases than if it had instead acted quickly to prevent the disease’s spread, like the Trump administration, Taiwan, and Hong Kong did. It is the epicenter of the coronavirus, with reportedly more than 80,000 sick and 3,000 dead so far (although China’s numbers are not reliable and likely understated).

It’s clear the Washington Post is more comfortable criticizing the president of their own nation even though his administration’s management of the threat has been far more transparent, immediate, and effective. Possibly there’s a connection between this editorial decision and the fact that the Post has been taking ad money since 2011 to publish literal Chinese communist propaganda disguised as a newsy, China-focused newspaper supplement.

It's actually very important we continue to refer to COVID19 as the Wuhan Virus

The Chinese government is working overtime to blame the CIA and anyone else for their failings. The name should indicate exactly where it came from so they can't gaslight future generations

— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) March 9, 2020

Covering for the Chinese Communist Party’s criminal neglect of its own people seems to be broader than the Post. Here it occurs through their favored moral preen of redefining what constitutes racism. David Gura is a weekend host for MSNBC News and previously worked for NPR.

alt

Then, of course, were the multitude of media comparisons between coronavirus and Hurricane Katrina. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman appeared to not be able to make up his mind whether coronavirus should be messaged as “Trump’s Katrina” or “weapons of mass destruction,” both of which damaged the George W. Bush presidency.

alt

Is Coronavirus Trump’s Katrina? https://t.co/6f9r0gWxfS

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) March 9, 2020

“Trump’s Chernobyl,” “Trump’s Katrina,” and “Trump’s Iran hostage crisis.”

At least the lefty media never purposefully try to incite panic and overstate things. pic.twitter.com/WwGiuIKpMW

— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) March 9, 2020

A MSNBC panel last Friday also discussed with anticipation the possibility that coronavirus could be “Donald Trump’s Katrina.”

“I should mention this with a little trepidation, but this may be Donald Trump’s Katrina,” said panelist Eddie Glaude Jr.

“Let’s just lean into that for a minute,” responded MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace. “I mean, Katrina was the moment when all of the things that felt incredibly incompetent about the Bush presidency… were realized. We gave them a proof point that we were indeed incompetent. And also people died. I mean, this has the makings, structurally, for the same kind of moment for President Trump.”

“And if there’s any a moment that would shake that 40 percent — the folks who would allow him to shoot someone right down Fifth Avenue — if there’s any a moment it’s this one,” Glaude responded. “Because it’s babies, it’s friends, it’s loved ones, it’s grand parents, it’s your nana. So it seems to me this is an event that could take down a president.”

MSNBC’s @esglaude Jr. on the Coronavirus: “This may be Donald Trump’s Katrina.”@NicolleDWallace: "Let’s just lean into that for a minute … this has the makings, structurally, of the same kind of moment” pic.twitter.com/bNjTTpbmjl

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 6, 2020

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday, host Joe Scarborough commented to guest Richard Haas, an editor at the Financial Times, Trump “is unqualified and unfit to be president of the United States. And unfit at one of the most dangerous times this country has seen in, well, I’ll say it, since 9/11. We don’t know where this heads, but we know it gets much, much worse with this president.”

Haas responded, “You mentioned 9/11, Joe. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives. We’re in the early stages of a crisis where, I believe, orders of more magnitude of Americans are in danger. Put that on the table. We’re at a point where the numbers are going to take over.”

As a reminder, 2,977 people were murdered by terrorists on 9/11, the deadliest terror attack in U.S. history. Due to their work digging people out of the rubble, approximately 10,000 first responders developed cancer, from which approximately 2,000 died. This comparison is utterly irresponsible at this point. All this conversation served was to scare the bejeebers out of people, to no good purpose, all for politics.

It is probably no accident that the media’s hysterical representation of what so far is a tiny health problem with the potential to grow — but we don’t know how much — mimics the accusations Democrat presidential candidates were making against Trump just two weeks ago. From Democrats’ lips to the media’s megaphone to a public frenzy in just two weeks.

Wash your hands, keep calm, and carry on, America. And hope the brokers managing your retirement and kids’ college funds are doing the same instead of listening to a bunch of know-nothings telling them to stampede.



TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: chernobyl; coronavirus; covid19; disease; dncstrategy; hysteria; liberalfascism; media; mediabias; mediacriticism; morningjoe; msm; pandemics; pmsnbc; politico; publichealth; stockmarket; trumpcdc; trumpmedia; washingtoncompost
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To: pepsionice

And you need to accept the fact that most folks are NOT dying from this! So far, only 4,382 have died from this! This is nowhere near a pandemic!

Good G-d, you are trusting the Fake News narrative! They are trying to tank the economy to hurt Trump and restore the Dems to power, and you are gladly aiding them in your unfounded fear and hysteria!

This is custom made for totalitarians waiting in the wings!


41 posted on 03/11/2020 9:35:18 AM PDT by Artcore (Trump 2020!)
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To: McGruff; timestax; Bon mots; Grampa Dave; musicman; Fiddlstix



42 posted on 03/11/2020 9:35:46 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: Codeflier
[The globalist plan is going off without a hitch.]

The Liberal Druids are probably bowing to the Georgia Guidestones as we speak


43 posted on 03/11/2020 9:38:56 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: bk1000

24 posts before someone said it’s not a bad as the seasonal flu, Bro? We’re slipping, people!


44 posted on 03/11/2020 9:38:57 AM PDT by null and void (By the pricking of my lungs, Something wicked this way comes ...)
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To: null and void

Gah! sorry about the double post!


45 posted on 03/11/2020 9:40:13 AM PDT by null and void (By the pricking of my lungs, Something wicked this way comes ...)
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To: SeekAndFind

46 posted on 03/11/2020 9:43:32 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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How was major surveillance missed ....?

Impeachment distraction by Nancy Pelosi! That’s how numbskull!


47 posted on 03/11/2020 9:46:11 AM PDT by EBH (DNC=Party NON GRATA)
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To: SeekAndFind

Dems failed for 4 years to destroy Trump....What if they offered China anything they wanted...Get rid of Trump for us...Do something we can use against Trump...Our tech and .military secrets are yours..


48 posted on 03/11/2020 9:47:55 AM PDT by Hambone 1934
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To: SaveFerris

Would you please make one just saying Snowflakes for those who deserve it, here.


49 posted on 03/11/2020 9:49:35 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Polticalwire.com is naming the Wuhan virus as BidenÂ’s running mate, they are gleeful.)
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To: Old Retired Army Guy

Apart from the elderly residents of the nursing home in Washington State, there have been 12 or 13 deaths in the rest of the country, but you’d think an asteroid was about to hit the earth.


50 posted on 03/11/2020 9:50:41 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: null and void

>>Bingo! Delay the spread at every step, in every way.<<

And how will Germans going on about their daily lives accomplish that, exactly? Seems like doing that would ensure that it continues to spread at the current pace, which is doubling every 2-3 days.


51 posted on 03/11/2020 9:52:45 AM PDT by Norseman (Defund the Left....completely!)
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To: Norseman
Ummmm.... Hand washing?

BTW, I notice Norwegian authorities have canceled the remaining portion of a large scale Arctic exercises dubbed Cold Response over coronavirus fears, U.S. European Command announced Wednesday.

52 posted on 03/11/2020 9:56:32 AM PDT by null and void (By the pricking of my lungs, Something wicked this way comes ...)
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To: Gahanna Bob

I do too.

My governor (Dem governor in NC) declared a state of emergency and we have about 10 cases of this virus!

I am convinced the Dem governors are making things seem much worse than they are in order to hype the economic consequences of this virus.

Also, it makes the Governors like Cuomo little tinpot dictators closing down schools and HOUSES OF WORSHIP!

We are in for terrible times due to the hype.

God save President Trump and God save America!


53 posted on 03/11/2020 9:56:33 AM PDT by Freedom'sWorthIt
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To: SeekAndFind

Ahh. So now it is Trump’s “Chernobyl”?

I thought it was his “Iran Hostage Crisis”?

Before that it was his “Katrina”.

I guess the walls are closing in. They have him now. He is isolated, strung out, mentally unstable and incompetent. Not fit to be President.

At least that is what the media says.


54 posted on 03/11/2020 9:57:16 AM PDT by rlmorel (Finding middle ground with tyranny or evil makes you either a tyrant or evil. Often both.)
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To: ClearCase_guy
"...They will forget how wrong they were..."

Oh, no they won't! They will simply pretend they never said it, and go back to "Russia, Russia, Russia", or some other "Orange Man Bad" theme. Of all the things Rush Limbaugh got right about the Leftists, his tagging them as "The Drive-By Media" is the single most accurate characterization.

55 posted on 03/11/2020 10:01:09 AM PDT by rlmorel (Finding middle ground with tyranny or evil makes you either a tyrant or evil. Often both.)
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To: SeekAndFind
Livingin-Fear-TV
56 posted on 03/11/2020 10:02:42 AM PDT by timestax
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To: Artcore

Well, some people are afraid. For this kind of thing, it preys on their mind.

If you spend any time on FR late at night, FR seems to explode with Freepers who think we are all gonna die. One night, I counted them up, and the virus threads were 50-60% of the threads.

As a paying member, it made me angry because there are other things going on in the world, but after a while, I realized they are just afraid and I feel a degree of sympathy for them. They are vulnerable to the war the Media is waging.

They are psychological casualties, which is what the Media is working at.


57 posted on 03/11/2020 10:05:34 AM PDT by rlmorel (Finding middle ground with tyranny or evil makes you either a tyrant or evil. Often both.)
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To: Old Retired Army Guy
The only T.V. I ever see...is when I'm working at the Hospital.

I turned mine off years ago now...

58 posted on 03/11/2020 10:10:41 AM PDT by Osage Orange (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot)
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To: Old Retired Army Guy

“This Corona Virus is the most over hyped thing I have heard in decades.”

I don’t know; I think it’s on par with “Trump Russia” and “Trump Ukraine”.


59 posted on 03/11/2020 10:13:22 AM PDT by rightwingcrazy (;-,)
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To: SmokingJoe

We went from the most coddled to the most vilified overnight


60 posted on 03/11/2020 10:26:34 AM PDT by al baby (Hi Mom Hi Dad)
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