A Yahoo! reporter got his facts wrong during President Trump's briefing with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday. The reporter, Hunter Walker, asked Trump why South Korea was far outpacing the U.S. on testing per capita. A surprised President Trump shot back that Walker's numbers didn't sound quite right, and Dr. Deborah Birx confirmed his suspicions a few minutes later. Addressing Walker, Birx corrected him that while South Korea is at 11 tests per 100,000, the U.S. is at 17 per 100,000.
ICYMI: Mainstream media reporter tries to pick fight with President Trump and Dr. Birx, loses pic.twitter.com/zagZzPIPsK
— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) April 28, 2020
"Alright, are you going to apologize Yahoo!?" Trump asked the reporter. "That's why nobody knows who you are, including me."
Birx was a bit more civil, simply telling Walker to double check his numbers.
Then something amazing happened. He actually apologized.
In the Oval Office, I asked about test rates and infection rates compared to South Korea. President Trump and Dr. Birx said I was wrong that they've done more tests per capita. Trump said I should apologize. They did not address multiple questions about our higher infection rate.
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) April 28, 2020
We have passed South Korea in the number of tests conducted per capita. I misread the mobile version of this chart and am sorry about that @realDonaldTrump . Our infection rate is far higher though as I noted.
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) April 28, 2020
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Instead of continuing to gloat, Trump was grateful for the apology. He thanked Walker during his White House press conference with small business owners who shared their testimonies about how they had benefitted from the Payment Protection Program.
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