Donald Trump plays clips of Andew Cuomo praising him – and then yells at reporters who question his coronavirus response
- President Trump used the White House briefing Sunday to defend his record combating the coronavirus
- The president twice played clips of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praising him
- Trump also held up a Wall Street Journal op-ed that approved of the president’s response
- When a CNN reporter asked Trump why he was devoting so much time to showcasing praise, the president launched into attack mode
- ‘What I’m doing is I’m standing up for the men and women that have done such an incredible job,’ the president said
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
In a briefing that stretched an hour and 31 minutes Sunday, President Trump furiously defended his response to combating the coronavirus, showing clips of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praising him and yelling at reporters who questioned his record.
‘What I’m doing is I’m standing up for the men and women that have done such an incredible job,’ he said when a CNN reporter asked why he was devoting so much time to showcasing praise with more than 40,000 Americans now dead.
‘Nothing is about me,’ the president insisted.
President Trump showed clips of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praising the federal response during Sunday’s White House briefing
Trump made some news at the briefing – he said negotiations with Capitol Hill were ‘getting close’ to adds funds to the Paycheck Protection Program and he said he would utilize the Defense Production Act in order to increase the production of swabs.
He then held up a swab and pulled it out of the packaging so the photographers in the room could get good visuals. He then handed it off to Vice President Mike Pence, saying he could give it to his wife, Karen.
But Trump mostly used visuals in the briefing room Sunday to promote his own record.
At one point, Trump pulled out a positive Wall Street Journal op-ed and began reading it to the room.
He played clips of Cuomo twice, complaining that in the first clip ‘they left out the good part.’
The video segments were from a press conference the New York governor held Sunday morning.
‘The federal government stepped up and was a great partner,’ Cuomo said in the first clip shown at the White House. ‘I’m the first one to say it. We needed help, and they were there.’
Later, spokesman Judd Deere passed along a note to the president informing him the second clip was ready to roll.
‘I just think it’s so good for people because it’s bipartisan,’ Trump said. ‘This is not about Democrats, Republicans,’ he continued.’ This is about a thing that hit our country, the likes of which has never happened to us before.’