Trump backs US health secretary, lashes media
US President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed reports he was considering sacking health secretary Alex Azar as criticism mounts over the US response to the coronavirus pandemic. Trump, who risks losing public support prior to the November election because of the climbing death toll, lashed out over stories on CNN and other media outlets.
"Reports that H.H.S. Secretary Alex Azar will be 'fired' by me are Fake News," Trump wrote on Twitter. "They are desperate to create the perception of chaos & havoc in the minds of the public." Trump renewed his attacks on Fox News, which he targets when its generally supportive broadcasting veers into criticism. "No respect for the persons running @FoxNews. But Fox keeps on plugging to become politically correct," he said.
"The persons who are watching @FoxNews... are angry. They need an al ernative now. So do I!" He separately threatened lawsuits over his media coverage, and asked the "Noble Committee" to rescind awards presumed to become a mention of the Nobel Prize, without any journalism category.
Trump appears to have halted his daily televised briefings on the virus after suggesting that patients may be injected with disinfectant to kill contamination. He later claimed he previously been speaking "sarcastically." A lot more than 54,000 Americans have died from the novel coronavirus.
