Associated Press
President Donald Trump speaks during press briefing with the coronavirus task force, at the White House, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in Washington, as Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma, Vice President Mike Pence and Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, listen (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
- In a break from his standard decorum, CNN anchor John King called "bulls--t" on President Donald Trump's attacks on the news media during Friday's White House briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.
- King defended NBC News reporter Peter Alexander after Trump called him "a terrible reporter" for asking the president on Friday to address Americans who are scared by the pandemic.
- King said Trump's was "reprehensible" and that Alexander's question was "perfectly valid."
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In a break from his usual decorum, CNN anchor John King called "bulls--t" on President Donald Trump's attacks on the news media during Friday's White House briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.
King defended NBC News reporter Peter Alexander after Trump called Alexander "a terrible reporter" for asking the president on Friday to address Americans who are scared by the pandemic.
"I sat in that room for just shy of 10 years, it was a perfectly valid question," King said on his program shortly after Friday's contentious briefing. "And what the president did to Peter Alexander was reprehensible."
King went on, "This is a Trump trademark. It was striking that this came, that this, forgive me, bulls--t attack on fake news came just moments after the secretary of state said that the American people have to be careful about where they get their information."
He added, "That was a 100% legitimate question with no hype, no shade, no bias - [Trump] just wanted to attack."
Alexander pushed back on Trump's positive spin concerning potential drugs that may be used to treat coronavirus patients. Trump said he doesn't know whether the drugs will be effective, but insisted he had a "good feeling about it."
"What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?" Alexander asked.
"I say that you're a terrible reporter, that's what I say," Trump responded. "I think it's a very nasty question, and I thikn it's a very bad signal you're putting out to the American people. The American people are looking for answers and they're looking for hope."
Trump went on to defend his positive spin.
"Let's see if it works, it might and it might not," he said of the drugs. "I happen to feel good about it, but who knows? I've been right a lot."
CNN White House reporter Kaitlin Collins challenged Trump's remarks about Alexander later in the briefing.
"Do you really think going off on Peter, going off on a network, is appropriate when the country's going through something like this?" Collins asked.
"I do," Trump responded.
Damn. John King has had enough. 👀 pic.twitter.com/L2anptx4ig
- Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) March 20, 2020NBC's @PeterAlexander asks Trump what he'd say to Americans who are frightened.
Trump goes on rant against Alexander, says he asked a "nasty question," calls him a "terrible reporter" and attacks NBC and Comcast. pic.twitter.com/vZAk3M4mqR
- Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) March 20, 2020CNN's Kaitlin Collins follows up: "Do you really think going off on Peter, going off on a network is appropriate when the country's going through something like this?"
Trump responds: "I do." https://t.co/YJJFxynOLN
- Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 20, 2020