(05-09-2020, 11:26 PM)76lsjumb Wrote: Partial quotes taken out of context can be very misleading. For example, if I reported that, on May 9, magnus asked "Is it February 2nd?," suggesting that the statement indicated serious disorientation, if not mental incapacity, the reporting would be true, but obviously misleading. Listening to the whole exchange, there is nothing in it that indicates the virus shouldn't be taken seriously, and I imagine no one on this Board, whatever their political leaning, is taking the virus less seriously as a result of the President's comments. As for a "benefit to the American people," I would ask what benefit there was to the American people in asking the President the question in the first place.
Beyond that, if the press wanted to cast this in the way you apparently think it should be cast to "benefit the American people," then the headline could just as accurately have said "Trump says 'vaccine would be very helpful.' " He also praised the companies doing work on vaccine development, something that was never mentioned in the story. If you're concerned about the effect of this on the public, would you agree that this would have been a better headline and approach to reporting the comments? Or, do you prefer what appears to be an anti-Trump bias, given the information included and the information excluded in the story?
I've seen extended clips of the session. I don't think he was joking. The clips do not show any indication of humorous intent. Even if you're right that he wasn't serious, I'm not sure that makes it better. Normal people don't joke about such things at public appearances. Why is this man constantly not serious about something deadly serious?