One thing about this mess that really screws Trump: Until now, he& #39;s been able to lie & get away with it by trashing a couple-dozen national reporters. "Fake news!"

But now he& #39;ll run head-on into *local* TV-news stories about coronavirus. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😲" title="Erstauntes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Erstauntes Gesicht">

1/ https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1236072301885562880">https://twitter.com/ddiamond/...

If you like Trump & he says "The test kits have shipped," but the NYT says they haven& #39;t, who you gonna believe?

But what if you see a local doctor on the local TV-news say "We haven& #39;t rec& #39;d any kits" & 3 kids at your kid& #39;s school may have CV but there& #39;s no way to test…

2/

And the HS baseball team is quarantined after getting back from a road game…

Now you still gonna believe Trump? Or you gonna believe what you see on the local news & what your friends are saying & what you may even know first-hand?

Yelling "Fake news!" loses its punch.

3/

Another way this screws Trump: His base of Repub state & local officials now has a problem more important to them than he is.

It& #39;s one thing to say, "No, his Ukraine call was fine." But will a governor say, "We have plenty of test kits" when they don& #39;t?
4/ https://twitter.com/lrozen/status/1236186900198830081">https://twitter.com/lrozen/st...

Tbf, yelling "Fake News!" has worked pretty well for Trump over the past few years. But now?

Thinking "Fake News!" will be effective work now against coronavirus news is like thinking containment will be effective now against coronavirus.

5/

https://twitter.com/KDbyProxy/status/1236112201573859329">https://twitter.com/KDbyProxy...

PRESS: What about your call to Ukraine?

TRUMP: It was perfect.

TRUMP SUPPORTERS: Okay.
___

PRESS: Is the coronavirus contained?

TRUMP: Yes.

TRUMP SUPPORTERS: But my sister said a friend might have it & Fox 4 said a nursing home is quarantined & my kid& #39;s school is closed.

6/

Imagine you& #39;re a Trumpster & the news says a hurricane hit Puerto Rico & the govt response sucks but then Trump tweets "Fake news!"… so that& #39;s that.

Now imagine the same except the hurricane hits your town & the govt response sucks. If Trump tweets "Fake news!" is that that?
7/

Adults& #39; major source for Covid-19 news:
> Local news: 46%
> Trump & task force: 31%

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😀" title="Grinsendes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht">

Yes, some local outlets may be downplaying the risks, but as long as they& #39;re reporting on how Covid is affecting local ppl & businesses, those stories have impact.

8/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/02/local-news-is-playing-an-important-role-for-americans-during-covid-19-outbreak/">https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank...