When criticized for their response to the global pandemic, the Trump administration's go-to defense has been that they're being treated unfairly.
They claim no other Presidents have had to deal with similarly harsh coverage.
Of course, this claim is not hard to debunk, as Trump advisor Peter Navarro found out when he visited 60 Minutes and claimed the program had not spent time outlining pandemic responses from previous administrations.
60 Minutes quickly put together a compilation video putting Navarro in his place.
Peter Navarro has been tasked by the president to get PPE and other supplies to hospitals during the COVID-19 crisi… https://t.co/TvYGmRjiIq— 60 Minutes (@60 Minutes) 1586733312.0
When we interviewed Peter Navarro, the White House official tasked with coordinating national PPE supplies, he was,… https://t.co/XJ5TuGI7co— 60 Minutes (@60 Minutes) 1586737512.0
Navarro was clearly most interested in putting a positive spin on the truth.
Peter Navarro defended the Trump administration’s #coronavirus pandemic response on CBS on Sunday night, angrily ch… https://t.co/UEtgg2ZqTe— Martin Pengelly (@Martin Pengelly) 1586783693.0
ALWAYS CHECK BEFORE ALLEGING MEDIA BIAS: PETER NAVARRO accuses @60Minutes of a double-standard, & demands to see ep… https://t.co/vmGIa1jlNx— Kenneth P. Vogel (@Kenneth P. Vogel) 1586793746.0
Navarro's claims were even disproved by...Navarro himself.
After filming the interview, it was reported that Navarro sent multiple internal memos to the Trump administration warning them of the virus' catastrophic possibilities.
President Trump’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro, calls the suggestion that there were warnings of catastrophic conse… https://t.co/xIikXesCYl— 60 Minutes (@60 Minutes) 1586733469.0
60 Minutes went on to outline how the federal response to the pandemic has fallen shamefully short.
“Look at what other countries are wearing in comparison to us. I mean, it makes sense that we're getting infected.… https://t.co/l2mIlzZ1Uc— 60 Minutes (@60 Minutes) 1586733211.0
“We're running out of IV pumps. We're running out of stuff that we never ran out of before. And it’s unacceptable t… https://t.co/1MffHmX8TD— 60 Minutes (@60 Minutes) 1586733554.0
It's worth remembering the higher standards we've held every other President to.
The @60Minutes segment on Peter Navarro & what the Trump Admin knew or should have known about the coming #COVID-19… https://t.co/KsEZwtQCyf— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sherrilyn Ifill) 1586734987.0
Peter Navarro called our story last week where he said there was "nothing to worry about for the American people" –… https://t.co/6pS4tCYC7U— andrew kaczynski (@andrew kaczynski) 1586792321.0
While the federal government dropped the ball, state leaders have picked it up and run with it.
@60Minutes Navarro asked who could’ve done this better? Look at Gavin Newsom in Califirnia, Jay Inslee in Washingt… https://t.co/DRyJFTdzBg— Marty Acevedo (@Marty Acevedo) 1586744828.0
The government’s haphazard approach to distributing its limited supplies has left states trying everything — fillin… https://t.co/aN5mrYWMOP— Anita Kumar (@Anita Kumar) 1586792556.0
And 60 Minutes wasn't the only news program to offer coverage of previous administrations' pandemic preparation.
@jadedcreative And then there's THIS too... https://t.co/dVxhhla52g— jennydjld2020 (@jennydjld2020) 1586791445.0
Twitter couldn't believe Navarro put himself in such an embarrassing position.
Anyone who studies media for a living knows you never say, "there was no coverage of ____" because establishing a n… https://t.co/isPoRd89S4— Jay Rosen (@Jay Rosen) 1586796363.0
Watch this 60 Minutes clip — but keep your blood pressure in check while you see all we had reason to prepare for a… https://t.co/k9Tsm9xQTT— Laurence Tribe (@Laurence Tribe) 1586792462.0
60 Minutes wasn't going to let Navarro's inaccuracies fly.
Quite a takedown of Navarro here with clips of prior coverage of prior administrations taking pandemics seriously.… https://t.co/DMGxDG1aSf— George Conway (@George Conway) 1586802819.0
@gtconway3d Man. 60 minutes had the receipts. https://t.co/4JvIc9e1VE— ✊🏾Kenny Purnell✊🏾 (@✊🏾Kenny Purnell✊🏾) 1586802944.0
Our past Presidents set our country up for success.
President Trump destroyed their plans.
Navarro asks what Bush & Obama did. Bush created the nation’s first pandemic plan Obama moved pandemic response… https://t.co/Rzt0GEPcGi— Steve Schale 🇺🇸 (@Steve Schale 🇺🇸) 1586870544.0
There may be some news outlets that White House officials can roll over with enough confidence, but it's become pretty clear that 60 Minutes isn't one of them.
The book Fifty Years of 60 Minutes: The Inside Story of Television's Most Influential News Broadcast is available here.