During Sunday’s MediaBuzz on Fox News, a bipartisan media panel excoriated the “left-wing Huffington Post” for publishing a “ridiculous” anti-Trump article titled: “Donald Trump doesn't care if you die from coronavirus.” And after noting that the article “simply said, ‘Well, he has trouble expressing empathy,’” Anchor Howard Kurtz knocked them for suffering from a “classic case of Trump Trauma.”
Federalist co-founder Ben Domenech was the first panelist to respond and denounced the Huffington Post article as “the kind of coverage that I think is just ridiculous and doesn't help anybody.”
“Of course, politicians don't want you to die. And when it gets framed like this by the media it's just irresponsible,” he added. “I mean, imagine if right-wing entities were saying this during previous health challenges that happened under the Obama administration. You should not have this kind of coverage. It’s deeply irresponsible.”
Turning to former Ohio state legislator Capri Cafaro (D), Kurtz reminded viewers that even Democratic governors were in the process of reopening their states. “I didn't see any media criticism of this headline at all. It’s just like, ‘Oh, well, another shot at the President,’ because it's Trump,” he said.
“You know, look, what really disappoints me right now is in the middle of a global pandemic where we do have millions of Americans out of work and thousands of Americans dying, people are petty. And everyone is retreating to their respective ideological echo chambers. Now is not the time for that,” Cafaro lamented.
Adding: “And this kind of thing from the Huffington Post, whether you're left or right, it's not the time for these kinds of petty words.”
On top of ripping the Huffington Post, Kurtz led into the segment by dismantling the liberal media narrative that if you wanted to reopen the economy, it must mean that you don’t want to save American lives:
Well, I think the problem with the media narrative is there is this supposition that you are either for saving lives or you're from saving jobs, when everybody including Andrew Cuomo says, ‘you can't keep the economy should down forever.” We now have 14.7 percent unemployment. Steven Mnuchin telling Fox News Sunday that the real number could be as high as 25 percent.
And before going to a commercial break, Kurtz quipped that the Huffington Post article managed to create “a moment of agreement” between opposing sides, against them.
The transcript is below, click "expand' to read:
Fox News Channel’s MediaBuzz
May 10, 2020
11:09:53 a.m. Eastern(…)
HOWARDS KURTZ: Well, I think the problem with the media narrative is there is this supposition that you are either for saving lives or you're from saving jobs, when everybody including Andrew Cuomo says, ‘you can't keep the economy should down forever.” We now have 14.7 percent unemployment. Steven Mnuchin telling Fox News Sunday that the real number could be as high as 25 percent.
But I want to close with this headline in the left-wing Huffington Post. Banner headline. Put it up on the screen, Ben. “Donald Trump doesn't care if you die from coronavirus.” And it's simply -- The story simply said, ‘Well, he has trouble expressing empathy.’ That seemed to me to be a classic case of Trump Trauma.
BEN DOMENECH: You know, it’s just -- This is the kind of coverage that I think is just ridiculous and doesn't help anybody. Of course, politicians don't want you to die. And when it gets framed like this by the media it's just irresponsible. I mean, imagine if right-wing entities were saying this during previous health challenges that happened under the Obama administration. You should not have this kind of coverage. It’s deeply irresponsible.
KURTZ: And Capri, you know, it’s governors—
CAPRI CAFARO: I agree.
KURTZ: -- Democratic and Republican who are moving to open their states. You agree. But where’s -- I didn't see any media criticism of this headline at all. It’s just like, “Oh, well, another shot at the President,” because it's Trump.
CAFARO: You know, look, what really disappoints me right now is in the middle of a global pandemic where we do have millions of Americans out of work and thousands of Americans dying, people are petty. And everyone is retreating to their respective ideological echo chambers. Now is not the time for that.
And this kind of thing from the Huffington Post, whether you're left or right, it's not the time for these kinds of petty words.
KURTZ: We have a moment of agreement. Panel, we'll have you back later in the show to talk about the Mike Flynn case.
(…)
