News anchor explodes at pro-Trump colleague who mocks 'panic' over coronavirus: '100,000 people died, Joe!'
'All you did was try to help your friend the president'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The hosts of CNBC's "Squawk Box" had a fiery exchange during Wednesday morning's show, during which anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin accused his colleague Joe Kernen of "misusing and abusing" his position to help President Donald Trump.
Mr Kernen suggested that Mr Sorkin was overreacting to the coronavirus, while Mr Sorkin accused Mr Kernen of minimising the dangers of the virus for the benefit of Mr Trump.
"You panicked about the market, panicked about Covid, panicked about the ventilators, panicked about the PPE, panicked about ever going out again, panicked that we'd never get back to normal," Mr Kernen said during the exchange.
Mr Sorkin defended himself, pointing to the death toll as evidence the virus should not be shrugged off.
"You didn't panic about anything? Joseph, 100,000 people died. One hundred thousand people died, Joe, and all you did was try to help your friend the president," Mr Sorkin said. "Those are what you did, every single morning on this show, every single morning on this show. You have used and abused your position, Joe. You have used and abused your position."
Mr Kernen defended himself, claiming he was "just trying to help investors keep their cool, keep their heads and as it turned out that's what they should have done."
He went on to claim that the country's markets would have tanked if Mr Sorkin had had his way, and contended that the US's death rate was on the lower end when compared to numerous other countries.
Mr Sorkin fired back that his concerns about the virus had nothing to do with the market, that they were rooted in concerns for people's lives.
"I wasn't arguing for you to go sell your stocks, Joseph, I was arguing about people's lives," Mr Sorkin said.
Mr Kernen said he agreed that it was "terrible" that 100,000 have already died from the virus, but maintained that a return to "normal" was inevitable.
"...Giving credence to all that panic didn't help any investors at all, or people with their anxiety," Mr Kernen said.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments