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Attorney General William Barr told "The Ingraham Angle" Wednesday that he was disappointed over the partisan attacks leveled against President Trump during the coronavirus pandemic and blasted reporters for waging a "jihad" to discredit the effectiveness of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.

"It's very disappointing because I think the president went out at the beginning of [the coronavirus pandemic] and really was statesmanlike, trying to bring people together, working with all the governors," Barr said. "Keeping his patience as he as he got these snarky, gotcha questions from the White House media pool and the stridency of the partisan attacks on him has gotten higher and higher."

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Barr's criticism toward the media sharpened when he addressed the coverage of hydroxychloroquine and its possible role in the fight against the coronavirus. He said before the president mentioned the drug, the media was fair in its coverage but as soon as Trump mentioned it, "the media has been on a jihad to discredit the drug," Barr said. "It's quite strange."

Host Laura Ingraham asked Barr about the possibility of extending the shutdown and its impact on the country. Barr said a depression would make the health care system "weaker."

"We cannot keep for a long period of time our economy shut down just on the public health thing. It means less cancer. Cancer researchers or at home. A lot of the disease reaches researchers who will save lives in the future. That's being held in abeyance," Barr said. "The money that goes into these institutions, whether philanthropic sources or government sources, is going to be reduced. We will have a weaker health care system if we go into a deep depression. So it just measured it in lives. The cure cannot be worse than the disease."

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The attorney general lamented the loss of family businesses during the shutdown, saying after the 30-day period the U.S. needs to "find a way" to allow businesses to adapt.

"But when you think of everything else, generations of families who have built up businesses for generations in this country and recent immigrants who have built up businesses, snuffed out. Small businesses that may not be able to come back if this goes on too long," Barr said. "So we have to find, after the 30-day period, we have to find a way of allowing businesses to adapt to this situation and figure out how they can best get started."