Expect more reporting on the coronavirus.
We here at the Monitors – RACmonitor, ICD10monitor, Monitor Mondays, and Talk Ten Tuesdays – continue to report on COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of more than 210,000 and has infected more than 7.5 million here in the U.S. amid an unrelenting global pandemic. We have taken every effort to ensure that our reporting and that of our contributors on the topic is objective and straightforward.
Nonetheless, when the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, despite an obvious political component, it was clearly news, which we again sought to report on, devoid of any political bias. That the President was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was also news, and that he was discharged to the White House after three days of care was news as well. Reporting on his medication and treatment, including the use of experimental antiviral drugs and steroids, continues to be news.
In light of this, we’d like to again reflect on the notion that we have a solemn responsibility to our readers and our own sense of journalistic integrity to remain steadfast in our respect for sound science and medical facts through our reporting. Even the suggestion of looking the other way, out of some sense of deference to the Executive Branch of the federal government, is intolerable.
COVID-19 has no political loyalty. It infects the rich, the powerful, the poor, the indigent, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, as well as everyday Americans, equally.
Even before there was Medicare, America’s healthcare discourse has been interwoven in the fabric of American politics. We apologize in advance if our reporting on COVID-19 and the President offends any political sensitivities. Regrettably, the coronavirus has been politicized, leaving us no other alternative than to simply seek to report the truth, devoid of bias. So please be prepared for more news stories to come on the coronavirus and its impact on all Americans, including the First Family.
