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US Surgeon General Tells Media To Stop Sniping At Trump Over Coronavirus: ‘No More Bickering … Or Finger Pointing’

Fox News

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams chastised the media Saturday for constantly sniping at the Trump administration’s efforts to combat the coronavirus.

“I want you all to understand — straight talk from the nation’s doctor —  we really need you all to lean into and prioritize the health and safety of the American people,”  Adams told an afternoon White House press briefing. “No more bickering, no more partisanship, no more criticism or finger-pointing; they’ll be plenty of time for that, but we all need to hit the reset button and lean forward, the health and safety of the American people are top priority.”

He advised reporters to write more stories about how people can access the health care they need instead of trying to undermine efforts to contain the pandemic. (RELATED: Journalists Spread Fake News About Coronavirus And Trump … Again)

Adams said Friday was “a very big, a very important day for our nation’s providers and for our nation’s patients in terms of the emergency declaration” and with the House of Representatives passing the bipartisan COVID-19 legislation. Adams said it all means “more people” will have access to the medical attention they require.

He reiterated a message heard throughout the day by Vice President Mike Pence and others: “this will get worse before it gets better but we are making progress to flatten the curve. We are making progress …  almost all people will recover, 98, 99% of the people will recover.”

President Donald Trump appears at a rally on the eve of the South Carolina primary on February 28, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump appears at a rally on the eve of the South Carolina primary on February 28, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Trump administration is coming under increased criticism from democrats for not doing enough to prepare America for the Coronavirus. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Adams’ comments come after persistent media criticism of Trump for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Politico first accused the president of labeling the outbreak as a “hoax” after Trump spoke to supporters at a South Carolina rally last month. In fact, he said the Democrats’ “politicization” of the issue — saying he was doing nothing about the spreading disease — was the hoax. (RELATED: Democratic Rep. Speier: Trump Putting ‘Ardent Supporters At Risk’ Of Coronavirus At Rallies)

After Trump’s speech to the nation last Wednesday night, CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta claimed that the president calling the Chinese coronavirus “foreign” was a word that “smacked of xenophobia.”