Mainstream Media Jumps Shark, Blames Trump for Overdoses in Nigeria
No stretch is too far to smear President Donald Trump – not even Nigeria.
From even before the administration started in January 2017, Trump-hating news outlets like CNN have debased themselves and American politics by spewing a continuous stream of hatred against the White House, usually based on slanted or even outright false “news” stories.
So far, the tactic has served the liberal agenda well enough. Despite the unarguable success of Trump’s economic policies before the coronavirus crisis, the president has remained disliked by a large portion of the American public, and there’s little doubt the House of Representatives is in Nancy Pelosi’s hands because of the avid support for Democrats among the country’s mass media.
But when CNN (owned by Trump-loathing Jeff Zucker) and other media outlets, such as Bloomberg News (owned by a certain former Democratic presidential contender), the Hill and the U.K. Daily Mail draw a direct connection between Trump’s words about the coronavirus, the drug called chloroquine and actual overdose deaths in the West African country of Nigeria, the sane part of the American public is going to think things have gone too far – that the mainstream media might have jumped the shark.
Even more than usual, the headlines tell the story:
“Nigeria records chloroquine poisoning after Trump endorses it for coronavirus treatment” – CNN, March 23
“Nigeria Has Chloroquine Poisonings After Trump Praised Drug” – Bloomberg News, March 21.
“Nigeria issues warning for drug touted by Trump after overdoses” – The Hill, March 23
“Nigeria Reports Chloroquine Poisonings as Trump Keeps Pushing Drug Against Coronavirus” – Slate, March 21
Now, granted, Slate isn’t exactly a “mainstream” publication, but really only because it’s a little more honest about its left-wing bias than, say, CNN is.
The point is, none of these “news” outlets had a problem linking the president of the United States with deaths in a faraway country – and linking it in a way that implicitly blamed Trump for the fatalities.
But even a good part of the audience on CNN’s Twitter feed wasn’t buying it.
Whatever they can find to blame on him, really???!!
— Grant Arinder (@Dr_GDog) March 23, 2020
Pathetic, CNN! He didn’t say self-medicate! The drug is one of many being looked at as a treatment, Trump said that & added he’s hopeful about it. “Nigeria’s CDC cautioned citizens from self-medicating w/the drug, which is undergoing testing for safety & effectiveness”
— M Unit (@Mpyreal84) March 23, 2020
That’s what happens when you take too much of any drug. What’s the real purpose of this Tweet? C’mon, we all know.
— OM ???? (@Observant_mind) March 23, 2020
Wonder if the same Nigerian prince that offered me 10 million was your source. Unbelievable that MSM is actively trying to subvert public trust in potential cures all to hurt Trump. #EnemyOfThePeople
— A (@agrover223) March 23, 2020
That last one is pretty funny, but this is a serious issue.
This is the same mainstream media that looked the other way during Obama administration scandals like spying on American journalists and using the power of the IRS to politically persecute American citizens.
It’s the same mainstream media that did its best to swallow Obama administration lies about the deaths of four Americans including a United States ambassador at the hands of Islamic terrorists in Benghazi, Libya.
Yet its reporters and editors are so willing to attack the current president that they seek out overdose deaths in a country thousands of miles away to blame on him?
The jury might be still out on the effectiveness of chloroquine as a treatment for those infected by the Wuhan coronavirus.
It’s unproven, yet shows promise. And KTTV in Los Angeles on Sunday aired a story about a man convinced that a derivative of the drug called Hydroxychloroquine had saved his life from an encounter with the coronavirus.
But what’s beyond doubt is that the viciousness of the attacks on Trump in the mainstream media have gone further than ever – to the point where blaming him for overdose deaths in Nigeria isn’t stretching too far.
Fortunately, even CNN’s Twitter audience sees right through it.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
