As Death Toll Mounts, Trump Brags That His TV Ratings Are As Big As 'The Bachelor'
President Donald Trump continued to display an unnervingly tone-deaf perspective on the mounting coronavirus threat in the U.S. by bragging about his TV ratings in not one — but five — tweets Sunday.
The former star of reality program “The Apprentice” boasted that the “ratings” of his news conferences are as high as the finale of “The Bachelor” and “Monday Night Football.” That drives the “Lamestream Media ... CRAZY,” he wrote. Then, like a commercial for an upcoming TV show, Trump added: “See you at 5:00 P.M.!” — referring to Sunday’s press briefing.
Because the “Ratings” of my News Conferences etc. are so high, “Bachelor finale, Monday Night Football type numbers” according to the @nytimes, the Lamestream Media is going CRAZY. “Trump is reaching too many people, we must stop him.” said one lunatic. See you at 5:00 P.M.!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020
“President Trump is a ratings hit. Since reviving the daily White House briefing Mr. Trump and his coronavirus updates have attracted an average audience of 8.5 million on cable news, roughly the viewership of the season finale of ‘The Bachelor.’ Numbers are continuing to rise...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020
...On Monday, nearly 12.2 million people watched Mr. Trump’s briefing on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, according to Nielsen — ‘Monday Night Football’ numbers. Millions more are watching on ABC, CBS, NBC and online streaming sites, and the audience is expanding. On Monday, Fox News...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020
Trump appeared to miss the key point of The New York Times article he quoted about the viewership ratings. The story Wednesday explored the increasing debate among networks about whether or not to cover the president’s briefings live because they’re peppered with falsehoods and misleading information about COVID-19.
Trump’s followers on Twitter were stunned that the...
