The essence of the piece dealt with the delicate journalistic question of what responsibility TV networks owe to their viewers to broadcast the President discussing the ongoing coronavirus epidemic given that these near-daily briefings have now turned into Trump spouting mistruths and settling scores with journalists.

Trump seemed to miss the point of the article -- likely on purpose. He selectively quoted the piece to focus on Grynbaum's noting of how well the coronavirus task force briefings have been performing in terms of TV ratings.

Here's the first part of the column Trump tweet quoted

"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..."

Read More