Kerby Anderson

If you have been concerned about how the media has been reporting the virus pandemic, you are certainly not alone. HBO host Bill Maher is not only upset with the way the establishment media is reporting, he has even warned those in the media that their current methods of reporting will help President Donald Trump be reelected. He began by acknowledging that “we’re starting to see some hope in all this.” But he fears that this “non-stop doom and gloom gives Trump the chance to play the optimist.” Then he reminded them that “optimists tend to win American elections.” To drive home his point, he displayed a graphic of candidate Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign poster that had the large word: HOPE. He also gave them a little history lesson. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is famous for saying, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” But he warned the media if they keep this up, Donald Trump will ride into a second term and “there will be no hope left for you to shame.” He described the “daily drumbeat of depression and terror” as “panic porn.” He explained that “Everything looks scary if you magnify it one thousand times.” He also cited the major newspapers for describing the coronavirus as apocalyptic. His advice was to “calm down and treat us like adults. He wasn’t finished. He also criticized his fellow liberals for making such a big deal out of calling it a Chinese virus. “Scientists,” he said, “who are generally pretty liberal have been naming diseases after places they came from for a very long time.” This time, I think we can agree that Bill Maher is right. Sensationalistic reporting and politically correct demands for how to name the virus have not served the public well. The current virus reporting might even help President Trump win the 2020 election.