We all saw this coming, right?
Turns out, when you refuse to follow even the most basic protocols to protect you and your people from COVID-19 you end up infected. With the likely point of infection being the party celebrating the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court where a number of Republicans gathered without masks or social distancing; Trump, Melania, and a number of other attendees are now positive for a virus that has killed over 200,000 Americans.
So is Trump okay?
That is the million dollar question. His physician and everyone that has publicly briefed on the President's condition have intentionally withheld information or obfuscated the facts. Clear answers about when the President was infected, how difficult his time with the virus was, and what his condition and vitals were during his treatment are nonexistent from those speaking directly to the press. That has left the only source of reliable information related to Trump's time with COVID to be anonymous sources.
Well anonymous sources are just sneaky lying liars that can't be trusted
This is the argument of many conservatives angry with the use of anonymous sources in much of the reporting on Trump since he came into office. Brad Slager, writing for Red State, makes a
similar case against anonymous sources. Reporters, Slager writes, are using anonymous sources to override the information presented by Trump's own doctors at a press conference on the President's condition. Nevermind that the information given by Trump's doctors was intentionally vague and did not paint a true picture of Trump's health, the fact that the specific details given to reporters were from anonymous sources means they must be false. Slager attempts to make the press sound hypocritical, pointing out that Trump is regularly accused of not trusting doctors when it comes to Coronavirus, but reporters are doing the same to his physician. The analogy is weak, especially given that the doctors Tump ignores are giving detailed information to the public about how to protect themselves in a pandemic, while Trump's doctor gave barely any information and would not honestly answer the press' questions.
Wait, aren't these anonymous sources White House officials?
Yes, as a matter of fact they are! The boogeyman of anonymous sources are often Tump officials in the White House. Will Saletan, speaking to Mary Harris in Slate, decries the demonization of such sources when the sources are people within the administration.
"When you hear the Trump campaign and Trump talking about fake news and it’s anonymous sources, it’s them. It’s their own people. And then they come out and they accuse us of fake news because our sources are anonymous. That is absolutely infuriating." -Will Saletan, Slate
So the reason the information from anonymous sources was treated as reliable despite it contradicting the press conference is because it came from a reliable source within Trump's own administration. This is nothing new, and is a tactic that other new outlets have expressed frustration about as well. Of course, White House officials attributing information to anonymous sources is an age old tactic, what's changed is the sudden widespread attack on those sources and the claims that anything unattributable is automatically false.
Hey Joshua! With the continuous downplaying of the virus, refusal to wear a mask, and little to no social distancing at events and rallies, it is no surprise that Trump contracted the virus. Dr. Fauci stated that he, too, was not surprised that Trump contracted the virus at the super spreader event. Even after word broke out about his positive test, doctors and White House officials were not transparent about his case. Following his diagnosis, an adviser with the Trump campaign announced that they would not be enforcing any new safety measures at campaign rallies. The frustrating part is that he continues to downplay the severity of COVID-19 even after he contracted it himself. In addition, he continues to spread misinformation about the disease. He stated that we are "rounding the corner," but health experts say otherwise, with cases increasing significantly across the country. During his recent town hall event, when asked about his negative COVID test, he kept repeating that he gets tested all the time, and cannot remember when he tested negative. We need real honesty and leadership in order to get through this pandemic.
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