PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor claps back at Trump after he attacks her on Twitter
After Donald Trump singled out PBS journalist Yamiche Alcindor by name in a libelous tweet that besmirched her as “a very biased ‘journalist’,” the White House correspondent for the PBS News Hour defended herself and invited him to face the scrutiny of a long-form interview to explain how his policies in fighting the pandemic are protecting the American people.
Trump’s criticism of Alcindor came in the form of a comment on a retweet of a post from one Fox News commentator quoting one of his equally partisan colleagues accusing the PBS reporter of hostile misrepresentation of the president and a lack of patriotic spirit.
A very biased “journalist”. https://t.co/4jN4LW63FV
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 5, 2020
In reality, only someone as foolish as Trump would fail to see the irony of retweeting posts from Fox News personalities and calling anyone other than the sources of his retweets as a “biased ‘journalist’.”
Alcindor, for her part, responded to the president’s malicious slur — not an uncommon reaction from Trump towards any journalist who questions him in any way, but one that he seems to aim frequently at female reporters and people of color in particular — with a calm and reasonable defense of her line of questioning and the wild presidential claims that inspired her inquiries.
Mr. President, @realDonaldTrump, I’ve asked you fair & relevant questions on your evolving approach & rhetoric regarding coronavirus. For example, last Sun., I asked: You've said some governors don't need the equipment they're requesting. How might that impact your decisions? 1/3 https://t.co/vJWH2tk4Ch
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 5, 2020
Now, there are more than 328,000 confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases & more than 9,300 people have died. You have said the next two weeks will be the toughest. I welcome you to come on PBS NewsHour for an interview on your administration's response & how Americans can stay safe. 3/3
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 5, 2020
The odds of Trump accepting Alcondor’s invitation are as likely as those that a Republican-controlled Senate would vote to convict Trump on any potential second set of impeachment charges, even after his disastrous failures in leadership while dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, no matter how much he would deserve it.
Alcindor’s classy reaction to a personal attack from the president demonstrates both her own professionalism and Trump’s utter lack of it.
One can only hope that Alcindor’s rational presentation of Trump’s own damning words will elicit a response from a discerning public that disproves any characterization of her questions as “nasty” and demonstrates that the reporting of the truth is as far from “bias” as a journalist can get.
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