It’s a good thing the media aren’t trying to fan the flames of panic over COVID19. Otherwise we might really be in trouble.

In case you missed it, Ainsley Earhardt interviewed White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham on “FOX & Friends” today. CNN’s Chris Cillizza was apparently watching and got the transcript:

Earhardt: “Stephanie, when Bernie was on ‘Meet the Press’ over the weekend, Chuck Todd asked him if he was going to continue to be on the campaign trail because we keep hearing if you’re around 80 years old you are susceptible, and he is 78 years old. President Trump is 73. Will he continue to have rallies and be out there on the campaign trail?” Grisham: “He actually just addressed this. Yes, he plans on still holding rallies. And I’ll tell you what, with our President — this man who doesn’t sleep and who I have seen work 15-16 hours a day every day — I have no problem thinking that he’s going to be just fine and just healthy.”

Well, for what it’s worth, Chris Cillizza has a big problem with that:

"What the White House press secretary is touting — that President Trump works a lot and doesn't sleep — are just the sort of things that make you more vulnerable to illness, not less so," @CillizzaCNN writes. https://t.co/IqY1RluVIg | Analysis — CNN (@CNN) March 9, 2020

More from Cillizza:

Grisham’s response is akin to being asked about whether you are worried about getting the flu and responding: “No, I lift a lot of weights and I am pretty jacked.” No, actually, it’s worse than that. Because what Grisham is touting — that Trump works a lot and doesn’t sleep — are just the sort of things that make you more vulnerable to illness, not less so! Lack of sleep is VERY clearly linked to lowered immune health!

We get being concerned about Donald Trump’s health. He is the president after all. But this really comes off like yet another example of Chris Cillizza straining to twist what would be seen as a virtue in, say, President Obama, into a vice because it’s President Trump.

CNN hitting President Trump for *checks notes* "working very hard." https://t.co/62RJAEGJaM — Dan ?? (@danieltobin) March 9, 2020

LOL. Imagine CNN’s analysis if WH had said that the president was taking it easy to conserve his energy for whatever the world may throw at him. — Gerard Baker (@gerardtbaker) March 9, 2020

This is why nobody takes you serious anymore. You post this, but know good and well that if Trump slept 9 hours a night you would criticize him for sleeping to much and not working for the country. — Shane (@BigPoppy24) March 9, 2020

So if slept 8 hours and 1 minute you’d say he sleeps to long. Y’all a bunch of ? — rustynuggetz (@rustynuggetz) March 9, 2020

@CNN, @CillizzaCNN, and Dems trying to hit Trump for working hard during a potential viral outbreak. 2 seconds later we'll get another tweet saying he's not working hard enough. Stop making us defend him you liars. — RBG’s Dr Frankenstein (@HarvardinOregon) March 9, 2020

CNN is just nuts with TDS — carole (@dagnon_carole) March 9, 2020