Trump claims media's focus on COVID-19 amounts to 'an election law violation'

(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

published 26 October 2020

In a Monday morning tweet, President Trump once again touted what he believes to be the "tremendous progress" his administration has made against the coronavirus pandemic before baselessly accusing the media of coordinating negative COVID-19 coverage to alter the course of the election.

There's little evidence to back up Trump's accusation. The U.S. recorded a record-breaking number of new daily coronavirus cases on Friday, and followed that up with the second-highest 24-hour tally Saturday. Some of that can be attributed to increased testing, but hospitalizations are also on the rise in several places, and while deaths remain flat, they're often a lagging indicator. The newest wave of infections also does not appear to have an epicenter and is spread more widely across the nation, making it particularly challenging to control.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.