CBS reporter’s ‘nasty toned’ gotcha really sets Trump off: ‘You ought to be ashamed!’

(CBS video screenshot)

The same CBS reporter who last month accused a White House official of referring to the coronavirus as the “Kung Flu” reemerged in the spotlight Friday when she lobbed what some claimed was a “gotcha” question at President Donald Trump.

The “gotcha” question irritated the president, prompting him to say she ought to “feel ashamed” of herself and accusing her of asking the question with a “nasty tone.”

During Friday’s White House coronavirus briefing, CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang specifically questioned the president about remarks made a day earlier by his senior adviser Jared Kushner.

Watch the full interaction below (disable your adblocker if the video doesn’t appear):


(Source: Fox News)

“Yesterday, Jared Kushner said the notion of the federal stockpile was, it’s supposed to be our stockpile. It’s not supposed to be state stockpiles that they then use. What did he mean by our, given the fact that taxpayers from every state pays for it,” Jiang asked.

“What are you asking?” Trump replied. “What’s that? A ‘gotcha?’ You used the word ‘our.’ ‘Our,’ you know what ‘our’ means? United States of America. That’s what it means.”

During the previous day’s coronavirus briefing, Kushner argued that cities that run out of ventilators and other needed medical supplies need to reach out to state officials first before seeking help from the federal government. Why? Because the federal government’s stockpile is designed to be a last-resort fail-safe for all 50 states.

Listen to a snippet of those remarks below:

It’s a “simple” concept, but one that Jiang appeared unable to grasp.

“So why did you say it’s not supposed to be state stockpiles that they then use?” she pressed at Friday’s briefing.

“Because we need it for the government, and we need it for the federal government. … because the federal government needs it too, not just the states,” the president replied. “But out of that, we oftentimes choose. As an example, we have almost 10,000 ventilators, and we are ready to rock with those ventilators.”

“We’re going to bring them to various areas of the country that need them. But when he says ‘our,’ he’s talking about our country. He’s talking … about the federal government. I mean, it’s such a basic, simple question, and you try and make it sound so bad.”

The CBS correspondent’s decision to evoke ‘taxpayers from every state” who pay into the federal system did seem political in nature, though Jiang felt otherwise.

“It’s not bad,” she said. “I’m just trying to understand.”

You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” the president replied. “You know what? You ought to be ashamed. It’s such a simple question. He said ‘our,’ and our means for the country and our means for the states because the states are part of the country. Don’t make it sound bad. Don’t make it sound bad.

This prompted Jiang to recommend that the administration consider changing “the language on the [federal government’s] website” to clarify this.

After the briefing, the administration went ahead and did as Jiang had suggested just to be helpful. And in response, the media predictably began bashing the administration.

Look:

It wasn’t “disinformation.” It was a clarification prompted by a recommendation from a fellow media head.

“You just asked your question,” the president, even more annoyed than before, hastily replied as he pointed to another reporter to ask his question.

You just asked your question in a very nasty tone. Let’s go. I gave you a perfect answer. You know it. Go ahead.”

The other reporter continued Jiang’s line of questioning, forcing the president to repeat everything Kushner had tried to explain a day earlier.

“We have a federal stockpile, and they have state stockpiles … but we’re not an ordering clerk. They have to have for themselves,” he said.

The full reply was longer, but this condensed quote basically sums it up.

Hours later, Jiang has become a hero and public enemy on social media, depending on the user’s political leanings.

Naturally, members of the left view her as a hero:

Conversely, members of the right view her as the female Jim Acosta:

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