By Bonchie
A couple of days ago, I put out a piece detailing a few of the ridiculous former takes on Trump promising a vaccine by the end of the year. Little did I know that the receipts would become even more damning. While NBC News fact-checking Trump’s claim when it hadn’t even had a chance to come to fruition was bad enough, I think the following proclamations are even worse.
Get a load of these:
President Trump just now at the WH on a coronavirus vaccine: “We’re looking to get it by the end of the year if we can….Moving on at record, record, record."
Note: Experts and officials say that is likely faster than what is possible.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) May 15, 2020
Since Monday, Dr. Fauci has publicly explained in front of Trump three times now that it will take a year or more to develop a Coronavirus vaccine. pic.twitter.com/3HFBccFm0k
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) March 3, 2020
When you see the phrase “experts say” used by a journalist, it’s a sure sign to ignore everything that follows. The game is simple. Instead of providing actual evidence for a determination that conveniently coincides with their chosen narrative, they make false appeals to authority when even the authority in question couldn’t possibly know what they are claiming. When Trump said a vaccine was coming in May, he was privy to the internal timelines. What some “expert” says is irrelevant. Further, Dr. Fauci’s skepticism is also irrelevant. He’s not all-knowing in that he could have any idea in March how long it would actually take.
And indeed, the vaccine was produced in record time, and it was delivered before the end of the year just as Trump continually said it would be. This would be the point where an honest media would give him credit and admit they were wrong. Instead, we are getting more deflections and zero admissions.
Of course, MSNBC was — and continues to be — one of the worst offenders.
.@IrwinRedlenerMD says Trump's claim there will be a #coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year is "preposterous."
Learn more: https://t.co/mOb9hhEyvr#11thHour pic.twitter.com/c2q66cNfuI
— 11th Hour (@11thHour) May 16, 2020
It’s fitting that such a comment was made on Brian Williams’ show. He’s obviously not a person with a relationship with truth and fairness so it just makes sense. Williams had a chance to push back here and state that we simply don’t know how things will turn out. Instead, he and this other MSNBC flack pretend as if they have certain knowledge that a vaccine wouldn’t be available. That take, of course, aged like milk in the sun, something that has happened to a lot of media anti-Trump takes.
There’s more, though. Here’s Vox’s Aaron Rupar, perhaps the most dishonest person on the internet, asserting just a little over a month ago that Trump was still lying about a vaccine coming by the end of the year.
Trump is now promising that the coronavirus vaccine will be available in "a couple of weeks," which is the surest indication yet that we're not close pic.twitter.com/mGftl9bddx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 2, 2020
Literally a week after Rupar made that snark-laden tweet, Pfizer announced the vaccine was ready.
There was a time when only weathermen could get away with being 180′ off day after day and still pretend they were experts better than grandpa and his knee.
Now, it is every newscaster who is wrong time and again.
They just go on the next day as if it didn’t happen, tho.
And they still have well-paying jobs!