Posted on 05/12/2020 6:20:19 AM PDT by Kaslin
The racism narrative overshadowed the much more important point reporter Weijia Jiang highlighted, which is the media's consistent defense of China and downplaying of American exceptionalism.
The media establishment has become an absolute clown show, with CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang cast as the ringleader during Monday’s press briefing circus. Instead of asking President Donald Trump any relevant question as a means to better inform Americans amid the pandemic, Jiang opted for grandstanding with a question about as frivolous as the infamous “Is Chinese food racist?”
“You’ve said many times that the U.S. is doing far better than any other country when it comes to testing. Why does that matter?” Jiang asked. “Why is this a global competition to you if every day, Americans are still losing their lives, and we’re still seeing more cases every day?”
“Well, they’re losing their lives everywhere in the world,” Trump responded. “And maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me, ask China that question, OK? When you ask them that question, you may get a very unusual answer.”
Trump is right to frame the U.S.’s pandemic gains in light of China’s failures, the same way the president was justified in doubling down on accurately terming COVID-19 the “Chinese virus.” This is not only because of American exceptionalism and communist China’s egregious cover-ups and propaganda efforts, but also because of U.S. media’s willingness to prop up the Communist Party of China at every turn as a glowing example of coronavirus response. But when Trump turned to call on a different reporter, Jiang just couldn’t leave her inane question alone.
After @weijia asks President Trump why he sees the pandemic response as a "global competition," he tells her: "Maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question, okay?" https://t.co/9T8aUPjUrs pic.twitter.com/aDQ5cwWvn0
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 11, 2020
“Sir, why are you saying that to me, specifically, that I should ask China?” Jiang, an Asian American, asked after pulling her mask down from her face, insinuating that Trump’s direction — to ask the authoritarian regime responsible for spreading a global pandemic a question about people losing their lives — was somehow motivated by racism against the reporter.
Give me a break.
If Jiang’s name sounds familiar, it may be because this isn’t the first time she’s accused the Trump administration of racism. In March, Jiang insinuated racial animus from a White House official who referred to COVID-19 as “Kung-Flu,” but refused to name the official.
This morning a White House official referred to #Coronavirus as the “Kung-Flu” to my face. Makes me wonder what they’re calling it behind my back.
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) March 17, 2020
Frankly, the exchange in the Rose Garden was embarrassing for Jiang before she followed up with the racism charge, and then it promptly went downhill from there. The self-serious soundbite would surely be ripe for social media ridicule.
But oh no. The rest of the self-serious media and Twitter blue-checks ate it up, with even former presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders weighing in and The New York Times also implying sexism.
Pretty pathetic. Mr. Trump is a coward who tears down others to make himself feel powerful. https://t.co/A4HvLyTdpn
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 11, 2020
President Trump abruptly ended his news conference on Monday night after 2 female journalists, Weijia Jiang of CBS News and Kaitlin Collins of CNN, worked to ask him questionshttps://t.co/NrusstLDZX pic.twitter.com/X298ciyE8B
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 12, 2020
Weijia Jiang is an Asian American reporter who simply asked Trump why he’s treating coronavirus testing like a competition between countries out of prideful vanity when Americans are dying. Trump telling her to go “ask China” is so flagrantly racist, demeaning, and unacceptable.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 11, 2020
‘Don’t ask me, ask China’ — Trump snapped at an Asian American reporter before storming out of a press conference pic.twitter.com/U8N2k5VzAo
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 11, 2020
As the clown show continued, leave it to CNN’s top jester Brian Stelter to take the spotlight in a segment with Wolf Blitzer.
“I think what we saw in that exchange with Weijia Jiang is something that has racial overtones.” – @brianstelter on how President Trump reacted to a question posed by an Asian American journalist. “This is part of a pattern of behavior from the President." pic.twitter.com/ktx1HkaNxw
— CNN (@CNN) May 12, 2020
Above the classic CNN chyron, “Trump asks Asian American reporter to ‘ask China’ about coronavirus deaths,” Blitzer asked Stelter to weigh in on what he called a “totally, totally fair” and “reasonable question.” In typical Stelter fashion, the media correspondent took the Jiang embarrassment to another level. It was just beyond parody.
I think what we saw in that exchange with Weijia Jiang is something that has racial overtones. It is racist to look at an Asian American White House correspondent and say ‘ask China.’ This isn’t happening in a vacuum. This is part of a pattern of behavior from the president that goes back many years. … The president has been rattled by Weijia Jiang’s questions in the past. He has treated her and other female reporters differently in the past, and he’s also had this pattern of reacting to minority journalists in a very specific and different way. … Now, of course, he said he would have said the same thing to everyone, but the pattern suggests otherwise. The pattern suggests a racial reaction to certain individuals in the press corp, and that’s deeply, deeply disturbing.
Only a partisan hack could interpret Trump’s response as racist. The president routinely shuts down reporters who ask bogus questions, as he should. If Jim Acosta had asked the same question, Trump surely would have also directed him to “ask China.”
Unfortunately, the racism narrative has completely overshadowed the much more important point Jiang highlighted: the mainstream media’s consistent defense of China and constant downplaying of American exceptionalism. Racism was nonexistent in Monday’s briefing, but anti-American sentiment was on full display. Any media outlets that would peddle Red China’s bogus data, as CBS did as recently as this week, and then presume bad faith from the president when he praises America deserves to be ignored.
Trump has been widely criticized for calling the press the “enemy of the people.” Given the responsibility of the free press, that criticism was probably warranted. But as the Wuhan virus pandemic continues, one thing has become abundantly clear: An authoritarian regime is responsible for a virus outbreak, covered it up, lies about it, silences its own people who sought to spread the truth, blames the U.S. military, and bullies global actors into parroting its propaganda is absolutely the enemy of the people. What does that say about American reporters who kowtow to it?
What goes for Asian-American Jiang also goes for Steve Benen and Stelter and Yamiche Alcindor and Scott Pelley. Sympathy for the CCP has nothing to do with one’s race.
If White House reporters can’t understand why the leader of the fr
Time to stop these press briefings. Just put out a daily statement. I suspect this person being Asian and asking this question was a total setup.
No article is complete if it doesn't explore this nasty CBS reporters past statements about Trump. She openely despises Trump and has said it is her intention to yell at and challenge him because h is so wrong. In fact, she is a Leftist agitator and should not be allowed in the press room. If I am upset with Trump about anything it is giving these people the opportunity to act juvenile and grandstand. He should go back to the Q&A style used at the helicopter, do NOT show the media, keep it SHORT.
This is the kung flu woman....aka the female jim acosta
When the Asian chick started with her schtick, Trump gave the OK to a CNN reporter to ask a question. When she held back to let the Asian chick continue to babble Trump called on someone else.
The CNN chick started complained Trump shut it down & walked off.
It was beautiful.
It took 1 minute for the liberal howling to begin. Music to my ears!
How much is the Chinese Communist Party paying her ?
Ancient Chinese secret, huh?
As to her question, “Why do you have to make it out to be a competition between nations?”, the President MIGHT have answered: “It’s you reporters who have made it a competition whenever you ask ‘Why are your numbers so much worse than X country or Y country or Z country?’”
Mr Trump is constantly put into the position of having to extol the virtues of America, his administration, or both, for the simple reason that the reporters are in constant chainsaw mode against him.
Chinese plant. There are many in the media.
She was born in Xiamen, China and raised in West Virginia, where she immigrated with her parents when she was two years old.
I think Trump needs to less press briefings. He does not have to answer to these guys. Make your self accessible once a month. The rest of the time let the people who’s best skilled at handling these people do their job.
And trump can communicate to the people via Twitter. It is just dumb to try and placate these people.
Why couldn’t President Trump merely have anyone asking gotcha question removed from the room?
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