As the country grapples with the global coronavirus pandemic, President Trump has allegedly telephoned former New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez for his thoughts on how the White House is handling the national emergency.
Rodriguez’s fiancee, J-Lo, was on hand to offer some of her thoughts too, according to tweets from journalists with ABC News.
“During a marathon day of meetings earlier this week, President Trump continued outreach across the country regarding coronavirus and phoned former Yankees Alex Rodriguez,” ABC News senior editorial producer John Santucci tweeted late Friday night.
“Multiple sources tell ABC the president spoke to ARod from the Oval Office via me and @KFaulders,” Santucci added, referring to ABC News White House and Capitol Hill reporter Katherine Faulders.
A source close to Rodriguez told @ABC the call with Trump was “pleasant” adding that Trump was seeking thoughts from ARod about the coronavirus response. Sources say there was no discussion of AROD or his fiancé Jennifer Lopez taking on any official effort.
— John Santucci (@Santucci) March 28, 2020
Santucci also tweeted that a source close to the Major League Baseball athlete said the conversation between ARod, Trump, and J-Lo was “pleasant.”
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In a series of tweets, Faulders said that Trump was seeking the “thoughts” of the celebrity couple on the COVID-19 crisis. The call “was part of Trump’s continued outreach across the country about the virus,” Faulders said on Twitter late Friday.
The call – asking A-Rod for his thoughts – was part of Trump’s continued outreach across the country about the virus. Trump spent much of his week speaking to business leaders & others about how the country is handling the pandemic. https://t.co/UpH5zzKRcE
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) March 28, 2020
“Trump spent much of his week speaking to business leaders and others about how the country is handling the pandemic.”
Faulders credited the reports to “multiple sources.”
Trump, for his part, immediately moved to try to discredit the report from ABC News.
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“She is a third rate reporter who has nothing going,” Trump said via Twitter on Friday, referring to Faulders. He added that she is “A Fake News journalist.”
She is a third rate reporter who has nothing going. A Fake News “journalist”. https://t.co/SopsC7uMMf
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2020
As of Saturday morning, more than 100,000 people in the United States had tested positive for the potentially deadly virus that was causing dangerously overcrowded conditions in the nation’s hospitals. The national death toll has surpassed 1,500 and New York State has been the most dramatically affected, according to a live New York Times database surveying the illness.