President Donald Trump uses his cellphone as he holds a roundtable discussion on the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the State Dining Room of the White House on June 18, 2020. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AAFP/Getty Images)
Jun 19, 2020
President Donald Trump was excoriated on social media after turning his attention to Twitter during a roundtable Thursday afternoon on the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic as one attendee detailed the hardships faced by her small business due to the outbreak.
"Get off your phone and pay attention!" tweeted author Jason Cranford Teague.
\u201c@realDonaldTrump Get off your phone and pay attention!\n\nhttps://t.co/YSC7s7mMgc\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1592574899
The president began scrolling through his phone as a business owner described how the pandemic has affected her company's operations, including the need for added runners and phone operators to handle social distancing requirements.
Trump's focus instead was apparently on composing a tweeted threat to China referring to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer's comments Wednesday to the House that it was unlikely the Chinese and U.S. economies could "decouple."
\u201cTrump demonstrates the depth of his empathy with two small business owners he invited to the White House by getting bored by their personal stories and taking out his phone to spend more than 3 minutes writing and sending a tweet about his China trade rep https://t.co/72c4gjtUc1\u201d— Robert Mackey (@Robert Mackey) 1592521097
"It was not Ambassador Lighthizer's fault (yesterday in Committee) in that perhaps I didn't make myself clear, but the U.S. certainly does maintain a policy option, under various conditions, of a complete decoupling from China," said the president. "Thank you!"
An avalanche of criticism quickly followed.
\u201cWho among us hasn't led the most powerful nation on earth and sneaked a peek at Twitter while in an important meeting?\u201d— Prashant \u2764\ufe0f (@Prashant \u2764\ufe0f) 1592528314
\u201cMessage: I care.\u201d— John Heilemann (@John Heilemann) 1592519029
\u201cOver 100,000 American small businesses have been run out of business since Trump disastrously mismanaged the response to COVID-19. \n\nAnd this is the level of engagement and respect he gives small business owners trying to tell him about their problems during the outbreak.\u201d— Andrew Bates (@Andrew Bates) 1592526996
"He's not even trying to pretend at this point," tweetedVox journalist Aaron Rupar.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump was excoriated on social media after turning his attention to Twitter during a roundtable Thursday afternoon on the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic as one attendee detailed the hardships faced by her small business due to the outbreak.
"Get off your phone and pay attention!" tweeted author Jason Cranford Teague.
\u201c@realDonaldTrump Get off your phone and pay attention!\n\nhttps://t.co/YSC7s7mMgc\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1592574899
The president began scrolling through his phone as a business owner described how the pandemic has affected her company's operations, including the need for added runners and phone operators to handle social distancing requirements.
Trump's focus instead was apparently on composing a tweeted threat to China referring to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer's comments Wednesday to the House that it was unlikely the Chinese and U.S. economies could "decouple."
\u201cTrump demonstrates the depth of his empathy with two small business owners he invited to the White House by getting bored by their personal stories and taking out his phone to spend more than 3 minutes writing and sending a tweet about his China trade rep https://t.co/72c4gjtUc1\u201d— Robert Mackey (@Robert Mackey) 1592521097
"It was not Ambassador Lighthizer's fault (yesterday in Committee) in that perhaps I didn't make myself clear, but the U.S. certainly does maintain a policy option, under various conditions, of a complete decoupling from China," said the president. "Thank you!"
An avalanche of criticism quickly followed.
\u201cWho among us hasn't led the most powerful nation on earth and sneaked a peek at Twitter while in an important meeting?\u201d— Prashant \u2764\ufe0f (@Prashant \u2764\ufe0f) 1592528314
\u201cMessage: I care.\u201d— John Heilemann (@John Heilemann) 1592519029
\u201cOver 100,000 American small businesses have been run out of business since Trump disastrously mismanaged the response to COVID-19. \n\nAnd this is the level of engagement and respect he gives small business owners trying to tell him about their problems during the outbreak.\u201d— Andrew Bates (@Andrew Bates) 1592526996
"He's not even trying to pretend at this point," tweetedVox journalist Aaron Rupar.
President Donald Trump was excoriated on social media after turning his attention to Twitter during a roundtable Thursday afternoon on the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic as one attendee detailed the hardships faced by her small business due to the outbreak.
"Get off your phone and pay attention!" tweeted author Jason Cranford Teague.
\u201c@realDonaldTrump Get off your phone and pay attention!\n\nhttps://t.co/YSC7s7mMgc\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1592574899
The president began scrolling through his phone as a business owner described how the pandemic has affected her company's operations, including the need for added runners and phone operators to handle social distancing requirements.
Trump's focus instead was apparently on composing a tweeted threat to China referring to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer's comments Wednesday to the House that it was unlikely the Chinese and U.S. economies could "decouple."
\u201cTrump demonstrates the depth of his empathy with two small business owners he invited to the White House by getting bored by their personal stories and taking out his phone to spend more than 3 minutes writing and sending a tweet about his China trade rep https://t.co/72c4gjtUc1\u201d— Robert Mackey (@Robert Mackey) 1592521097
"It was not Ambassador Lighthizer's fault (yesterday in Committee) in that perhaps I didn't make myself clear, but the U.S. certainly does maintain a policy option, under various conditions, of a complete decoupling from China," said the president. "Thank you!"
An avalanche of criticism quickly followed.
\u201cWho among us hasn't led the most powerful nation on earth and sneaked a peek at Twitter while in an important meeting?\u201d— Prashant \u2764\ufe0f (@Prashant \u2764\ufe0f) 1592528314
\u201cMessage: I care.\u201d— John Heilemann (@John Heilemann) 1592519029
\u201cOver 100,000 American small businesses have been run out of business since Trump disastrously mismanaged the response to COVID-19. \n\nAnd this is the level of engagement and respect he gives small business owners trying to tell him about their problems during the outbreak.\u201d— Andrew Bates (@Andrew Bates) 1592526996
"He's not even trying to pretend at this point," tweetedVox journalist Aaron Rupar.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.