President Donald Trump took a swing at ABC reporter Jonathan Karl during Friday’s coronavirus briefing, telling him, “don’t be a cutie pie.”
Karl had asked a series of questions about ventilators and whether or not there would be enough to go around when the need arose, and Trump appeared to be unimpressed with the direction of the queries. (RELATED: Trump Flubs Question In Coronavirus Presser, Suggests 1918 Spanish Influenza ‘Attacked’ In 1917)
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Trump explained that plans were already in motion to procure or manufacture as many ventilators as possible — and quickly.
“Is it fast enough to get 100,000?” Karl asked. (RELATED: Jonathan Karl Flips Script On ‘The View,’ Says It’s Right To Be ‘Skeptical’ Of NYT Report)
“Let’s put it this way, we have distributed thousands and thousands already. Normally these would be bought by state, just so you understand. Normally these would be bought by governors,” Trump replied. “We are competing against many countries. Because many countries need the vent —”
“The question I was building up to, are you able to guarantee, to assure these states, these hospitals that everybody who needs a ventilator will get a ventilator?” Karl pressed again.
“Here’s what I will tell you. We are in good shape. I think we are in great shape,” Trump said. “I think that number one, we have distributed — ventilators are a big deal, we are distributed vast numbers and we are in great shape.”
The president went on to say that he hoped to insure that there were not only enough ventilators to go around in the United States, but enough to share with other countries as they were needed.
Karl tried one more time: “So everyone that needs one will be able to get a ventilator?”
“Don’t be a cutie pie,” Trump shot back. “Everyone who needs one … Nobody has done what we have been able to do, and everything that I took over was a mess. It was a broken country in so many ways. In so many ways other than this. We had a bad testing system. We had a bad stockpile system, we had nothing in the stockpile system. So I would not tell me what you’re telling me, like, being a wise guy.”