Ayman Mohyeldin: Journalists will need memory span longer than a flash to hold trump accountable

Link to tweet

THREAD/ For weeks, Pres Trump has downplayed the risks Coronavirus posed to Americans. He either deflected or said it was under control.

If journalists are to hold elected officials accountable for their words and actions, we will need to have a memory span longer then a flash

Here is Pres Trump in his own words (and tweets) as compiled by the @NBCNews White House Unit.

Read them, save them and don’t forget them so when he says “I’ve always known this is a real pandemic long before it was called a pandemic” you can actually call him out on it

Jan. 22: “It’s going to be just fine. We have it totally under control.”

Jan. 24 (tweet): “It will all work out well.”

Jan. 30: “We think we have it very well under control. We have very little problem in this country at this moment

Feb. 7 (tweet): “… as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone.”

Feb. 10: “I think the virus is going to be — it’s going to be fine.”

Feb. 14: “We have a very small number of people in the country, right now, with it. It’s like around 12. Many of them are getting better. Some are fully recovered already. So we’re in very good shape.”

Feb. 19: “I think it’s going to work out fine. I think when we get into April, in the warmer weather, that has a very negative effect on that and that type of a virus. So let’s see what happens, but I think it’s going to work out fine.”

Feb. 24 (tweet): “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. … Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”

Feb 25: “You may ask about the coronavirus which is very well under control in our country. We have very few people with it & the people that have it are getting better. Theyre all getting better. As far as what we’re doing with the new virus I think that we’re doing a great job”

Feb. 26: “Because of all we’ve done, the risk to the American people remains very low. … When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero. That’s a pretty good job we’ve done."

Feb. 28: “I think it’s really going well. … We’re prepared for the worst, but we think we’re going to be very fortunate."

Feb. 28: “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”

Feb. 28: “This is their new hoax.”

March 4: “Some people will have this at a very light level and won’t even go to a doctor or hospital, and they’ll get better. There are many people like that.”

March 9 (tweet): “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”

March 10: “And it hit the world. And we’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”

March 11: “I think we’re going to get through it very well.”

March 12: “It’s going to go away. The US, because of what I did and what the administration did with China, we have 32 deaths at this point … when you look at the kind of numbers that you’re seeing coming out of other countries, it’s pretty amazing when you think of it.”

March 15: “This is a very contagious virus. It’s incredible. But it’s something that we have tremendous control over.”

March 16: “If you’re talking about the virus, no, that’s not under control for any place in the world.”

March 17: “I’ve always known this is a, this is a real, this is a pandemic … I’ve felt that it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”

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March 17: “I’ve always known this is a, this is a real, this is a pandemic … I’ve felt that it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”

He's a LIAR