President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Briefing Room, Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin listen. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump’s Wuhan virus pressers have formed the center of the news cycle for weeks now, with them providing plenty of political fodder.

For their part, the media have been absolutely terrible, asking ridiculous questions (someone actually asked Trump “how many deaths are acceptable to you” yesterday) and misleading the public about what’s happening. It’s safe to say more time has been spent on their own hand wringing that getting out vital information.

Regardless, if the ratings for these briefings are any indication, people aren’t looking to The New York Times for their information. Instead, they are watching it themselves, forming audience sizes rivaling Monday Night Football.

This per the New York Post.

President Trump’s daily White House coronavirus briefings are a ratings hit. The president, who has taken the lead in the task force’s daily updates to the nation, has attracted an average audience of about 8.5 million viewers on cable news — about the number of viewers who watched the season finale of “The Bachelor,” The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing Nielsen numbers. And as the outbreak continues to surge across the country and more Americans abide by shelter-in-place orders in a number of states, the viewership is increasing. Monday’s briefing drew 12.2 million people on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, ratings similar to those of “Monday Night Football.”

Compare that to Joe Biden’s last event, where he drew just 2800 viewers to his live stream.

To coin a Trump term, the ratings for his pressers are absolutely “yuge.” They also dwarf the primetime ratings of outlets like CNN, who fancy themselves the gateway of information. Trump is successfully circumventing them, getting his message directly to the people. That’s exactly why CNN, NBC, and others are now saying they won’t show his pressers anymore. It’s not because they are worried about supposed “lies” being told as they claim. No, it’s because they are so highly effective and they want to handicap the President during a crisis for political reasons.

That’s further evidenced by Trump’s rising approval ratings, with RCP now showing him at the highest approval rating average of his entire presidency. The American people are apparently smarter than the media believe they are and it’s freaking them out.

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