Rubio Slammed for Comments About Media ‘Glee & Delight’ in Reporting U.S., China Coronavirus Numbers
Senator Marco Rubio went after the media coverage of coronavirus on Twitter Sunday morning.
As of this posting, the U.S. has more confirmed cases of coronavirus than China. Obviously there is extreme skepticism about the numbers coming from China.
In his tweet, Rubio said everyone should be extremely skeptical of those numbers coming out of China, and accused the media of letting their “glee & delight” show in their coverage of the increase in cases in the United States:
Some in our media can’t contain their glee & delight in reporting that the U.S. has more #CoronaVirus cases than #China
Beyond being grotesque,its bad journalism
We have NO IDEA how many cases China really has but without any doubt its significantly more than why they admit to
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 29, 2020
The comment received immediate criticism from many on Twitter, especially reporters, at the idea the coverage of a pandemic is gleeful:
Senator, either you have no clue what you're talking about or you're being a jerk. I have friends in this industry who have the virus. We have to make exceptionally challenging calls about sending reporters into hot spots or places where they could get it. Do better.
— Sam Stein (@samstein) March 29, 2020
Journalists living in NYC, I can tell you, are not gleeful. We hear sirens more all the time. We know our hospitals are overrun and people are dying every day. We're worrying about the health of our friends and families while working hard to cover this crisis. https://t.co/JgZQdTAiCT
— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) March 29, 2020
The idea that journalists are cheering on the coronavirus pandemic is extremely stupid. Our industry is about to get devastated by the economic downturn and journalists are getting sick just like everyone else. No one wants this to be happening. https://t.co/6bUtp05ihZ
— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) March 29, 2020
Nobody is happy about this. I live a mile away from a hospital in New York City. I hear sirens all day. Several friends in the hospitality industry have been laid off already. https://t.co/qcAa4j9w3u
— andrew kaczynski? (@KFILE) March 29, 2020
This is exceedingly ugly. Probably just about every journalist writing about this has someone they love who would be at risk of dying if they caught it. I personally think about that all the time.
The point about China's #s being unreliable is fair; the rest is just awful. https://t.co/sosRbiz7C8
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) March 29, 2020
Nobody is fucking gleeful about any of this. https://t.co/DTcgo2TdEt
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 29, 2020
Seriously, go fuck yourself @marcorubio
Journalists are out there putting themselves in harms way to bring news to the American people
Journalists have lost loved ones and former colleagues
Journalists have lost their jobs due to this crisis
You spineless asshole https://t.co/bCsRFEc3yU
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) March 29, 2020
This anti-press attitude is getting very tiresome in a situation where journalists all over the country are losing their jobs and others are contracting and even dying from the virus. To suggest any of this reporting is gleeful is insulting https://t.co/Yi76RTkqaQ
— Alastair Coote (@_alastair) March 29, 2020
I can't imagine what station or network the senator is watching but every media outlet I've tuned into have reported the people sick and/or dying as sobering, heartbreaking, and overwhelming news. https://t.co/h1KYVDCXDb
— Susan Tran (@susantran) March 29, 2020
Respectfully, Senator, I’ve seen nobody do this. https://t.co/yEEM1kyXFd
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) March 29, 2020
This is dumb. There is no "glee & delight." Some in media definitely are citing the US-China numbers without full context to slam Trump, but I doubt anybody wants the prospect of getting sick or losing their jobs. https://t.co/PniVD9odSb
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) March 29, 2020
Who are you talking about, Senator Rubio? Who feels “glee & delight” when more people are sick? Who? https://t.co/aIVdYQhXaW
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) March 29, 2020
CBS News employees literally just found out today that one of our colleagues had died from the virus. Journalists are among the sick and dying, just like thousands of other Americans. https://t.co/E4GwZu0Jrn
— Grace Segers (@Grace_Segers) March 29, 2020
