This weekend, CNN’s Jake Tapper did an excellent interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi where he drilled down on one of the most glaring contradictions in the Democratic narrative against President Donald Trump. Pelosi and other Democrats excoriated Trump for his order to block travel from China on January 30th. Pelosi was also in late February calling for people to mass in Chinatown in San Francisco to protest Trump’s comments and actions on China. Now, however, Pelosi is saying the problem was that the travel ban did not go far enough?

The Democrats have been struggling to negate the fact that Trump’s action in January counteracts the criticism that he did nothing, particularly when even that action was opposed by Democrats. Interviews on Sunday were damaging in a number of ways for that effort. In a different interview on Face the Nation, Mayor London Breed also tried to downplay the value of the travel ban by suggesting that she and other were already acting in December and declared an emergency in February. She then added that it is good that Chinatown “basically was a ghost town” in January.” While she referenced the “zenophobia” cited by Pelosi, she appeared to say that it was fortunate that no one was gathering in Chinatown. However in late February, Pelosi was encouraging people to mass in Chinatown.

Tapper’s interview pressed the point. When the order was imposed, Pelosi was publicly and vehemently opposed to even the notion of a ban: ‘‘The Trump Administration’s expansion of its outrageous, un-American travel ban threatens our security, our values and the rule of law.”

Now however the order was not racist, but too little too late: “Tens of thousands of people were still allowed in from China. It wasn’t as it is described as this great moment. … If you’re going to shut the door because you have an evaluation of an epidemic, then shut the door”

CNN Politics ✔@CNNPolitics Speaker Pelosi on Trump’s China travel restriction: “Tens of thousands of people were still allowed in from China. It wasn’t as it is described as this great moment. … If you’re going to shut the door because you have an evaluation of an epidemic, then shut the door” #CNNSOTU 4,247 Twitter Ads info and privacy Tapper is one of the few to press the contraction in the position of the Democrats and notably few media outlets even mentioned Pelosi’s bizarre pivot on the question. A s with “conspiracy theories,” it seems like contradictions are not viewed as a plausible point of coverage for Democrats. That brings us back to Breed’s interview. There is an obvious disconnect in saying that San Francisco was aware in December and taking emergency actions in January. However, they did little to impose social distancing as evidenced by Pelosi’s call to rally in Chinatown. Likewise, in Michigan, I covered the huge Sanders rally as Biden and others were continuing such events. The fact is that, in January and February, there were highly conflicting reports coming the WHO, China, and even the CDC. I do not blame officials like Breed in not ordering more significant measures even though she admits that they were alarmed in December and closely following the developments. This proved far more contagious than anticipated and China cost the world critical weeks by suppressing information as the virus became to spread globally. It is inevitable that both parties will engage in the blame game but the role of the media is more important than ever in supplying balanced and fair coverage of this issue. Instead, much of the coverage seems to be transparently one-sided and willfully blind to the full record. If the issue is not just malfeasance but nonfeasance, the media should (as Tapper did) look at the record of both parties. After all public health in our federalism system remains primarily a state and local issue (a point recently rediscovered by many Democratic leaders and the media). That does not get the federal government off-the-hook. States rely on groups like the CDC for its expertise and data. However, as Breed admitted, the danger was already apparent to her and her colleagues in December.

The point is not to cast blame but to question the lack of balance in the coverage on how the Administration responded in February and March. If the media is confused about why Trump’s core still support him, it likely has something to do with the overtly distorted and biased coverage on such issues. I have joined the mainstream media in slamming President Trump when he has contradicted himself or the record. My only complaint is how contractions from the other side are routinely ignored or buried in the coverage. This long-standing pattern erodes trust in the media and denies citizens any reliable source for news.

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