Fox & Friends agrees with Trump that coronavirus is a “hoax”
Published
Citation From the February 29, 2020, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends Weekend
JEDEDIAH BILA (CO-HOST): I want to ask you, though, about the president. What can the president do at a time like this? Because obviously he has an interest in stabilizing the market. You see now if you take a look the Dow is down. The S&P [500] is down. It's very concerning to a lot of people out there. What should he be saying?
STUART VARNEY (FOX BUSINESS HOST): He should be reassuring the American people as he has been doing that this administration can take care of and contain this virus. Remember, no deaths. OK. We got new cases, but no deaths. We've quarantined people. We're testing people. That's what the president should be telling us, and he is telling us that.
Personally, I get really annoyed when I hear the Democrats, going after the president, try to make out that the virus is his fault. And they are doing it for electoral advantage and I think that is absolutely reprehensible. You need an opposition, you need to hold the president accountable. But what they are doing is denigrating the administration's efforts. Trying to tear down the president, not for the benefit of the country, but for their electoral benefit.
BILA: We actually have some sound --
DEAN CAIN (CO-HOST): Exactly.
BILA: -- related right to what you are saying.
CAIN: He spoke about this last night in Charleston, South Carolina.
[CLIP]
DONALD TRUMP (PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES): Politicizing the coronavirus.
...
You say how is President Trump doing? They go, "Oh, not good, not good." They have no clue. They don't have any clue. They can't even count their votes in Iowa. They can't even count.
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One of my people came up to me and said, "Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia. That didn't work out too well." They couldn't do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. They tried it over and over. They have been doing it since you got in. It's all turning. They lost. It's all turning. Think of it. Think of it. And this is their new hoax.
[END CLIP]
PETE HEGSETH (CO-HOST): He can't resist.
VARNEY: Look, I agree with that. Look, Russia, Russia, Russia. Impediment to justice. Impeachment, and now the virus. One thing after another to denigrate and slime our president. Utterly wrong.
HEGSETH: You see the misinformation, too. Democrats -- the AP had to fact check Democrats who were saying that the president's cut the CDC budget which it hasn't been reduced under the Trump presidency. They're seizing on anything.
VARNEY: And you have this irrational criticism of the president. [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], for example, denigrating Vice President [Mike] Pence who is in charge of the containment effort saying he is a science denier. Please. Come on.
BILA: Yeah. And the reality, I mean, the truth is --
VARNEY: And Senator [Elizabeth] Warren was talking about the mess of this containment effort. Excuse me, show me the mess.
BILA: Yeah.
VARNEY: I don't see any deaths. I see a good strong containment effort.
BILA: Yeah, the truth is, whatever the president would have done, the media would have been there to criticize him.