But they may soon come to a halt, or at least become less frequent.

Still dealing with the fallout from his controversial words about the possibility of treating coronavirus patients by injecting them with disinfectant, President Trump cut short Friday’s press briefing and canceled Saturday’s and today’s.

Instead he went Twitter, he went on to question the validity of press briefings, attacking the media for their “hostile questions” and news coverage.

What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020

Trump’s statement on Thursday ignited a storm of criticism, from politicians to health experts, condemning the commander-in-chief for floating such a dangerous idea. Even the makers of disinfectant products felt the need to put out statements clearly advising people against ingesting their products.

Turning to medical experts on the coronavirus taskforce, the president mused about whether injecting disinfectant or UV light into the body could prove to be an effective treatment.

“I see the disinfectant, where it knocks [the virus] out in a minute, and is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning (…) It would be interesting to check that,” he said.

The next day, Trump was grilled by a reporter on his statements and said that he was only being sarcastic.

The President has previously promoted other treatment methods with little to no scientific evidence of being effective, most notably hydroxychloroquine, a drug commonly used for malaria. According to director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is part of Trump’s team, the data on its effectiveness in treating Coronavirus is “at best suggestive”.

As Trump’s approval numbers have dwindled back to low 40s in recent weeks and democratic challenger Joe Biden has gained battleground in some states, Trump is under pressure to drive his reelection campaign forward. His response to the coronavirus, which has faced plenty of criticism, has become central to the campaign.

And now Trump’s own advisors seem to think that the President’s “near-constant presence on television” might actually be working against him, according to Politico. Some are insisting that he shorten the length of the daily briefing and leave the medical advice to experts.

“I am worried about overexposure, yes,” a source close to Trump told Politico. “Bickering with the media for two hours on live television does nothing to help Americans who are struggling right now and want to know how and when their lives will return to normal.”

Even without a press briefing, yesterday Trump still gave his two-cents on Georgia’s reopening of certain businesses this weekend. Trump has voiced support for stay-at-home protestors, but he doubled down on his criticism towards Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s decision, tweeting that he was “NOT happy” with him.

On twitter rampage today,Trump attacked, which included the media, the Democrats and political analyst, Donna Brazile who works for  Fox News. The networks  coverage is usually favorable.

.@FoxNews just doesn’t get what’s happening! They are being fed Democrat talking points, and they play them without hesitation or research. They forgot that Fake News @CNN & MSDNC wouldn’t let @FoxNews participate, even a little bit, in the poor ratings Democrat Debates…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020

….Even the Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats laughed at the Fox suggestion. No respect for the people running @FoxNews. But Fox keeps on plugging to try and become politically correct. They put RINO Paul Ryan on their Board. They hire “debate questions to Crooked Hillary”….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020

….fraud @donnabrazile (and others who are even worse). Chris Wallace is nastier to Republicans than even Deface the Nation or Sleepy Eyes. The people who are watching @FoxNews, in record numbers (thank you President Trump), are angry. They want an alternative now. So do I!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020

Some states to reopen

Meanwhile many states will remain shutdown, others have stay-at-home orders that will expire in a few days, by April 30. And four states have already relaxed measures in some form.

In Georgia, businesses like gyms, hair salons and bowling alleys were allowed to reopen, provided that they maintain social distancing rules and screen employees. And on April 27 theaters and restaurants will follow suit. South Carolina, Oklahoma and Alaska have likewise allowed some businesses to reopen, with certain rules.

Today Governor Cuomo announced a rough plan on how New York state, which has been hit the hardest by the coronavirus, will reopen. “Phase 1” will ses the reopening of construction and manufacturing activities which pose a low risk of infection, by around the middle of May. And “Phase 2” will include other industries, depending on their priority and risk levels.

“We need businesses to do that analysis,” Cuomo said, adding that there need to be safeguards and precautions in place and that the way each business plans to open will determine the risk factor.”

Cuomo’s plan will follow federal guidance from the CDS, which says that hospitalizations must be down for at least 14 days before the state reopens. In New York, numbers have already been going down for almost two weeks. And the plan will apply differently depending on which part of the state. Central New York and North County, for example, will likely be first, contrary to other more dense areas, like New York City.

Cuomo also said that there will be a period of two weeks in between phases, in order for state officials to monitor the progress of the spread and determine whether it’s safe to proceed.

“All that progress we made by flattening that curve, we could lose that in a matter of days if we’re not careful,” Cuomo said.

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I dunno man, he doesn’t sound like a stable genius to me.#walkback#TrumpIsALaughingStock https://t.co/WwjdW0rPoL

— Adrian Gutierrez (@KitchenIsDads) April 24, 2020

Today, the president focused his six-minute address on the economy, welcoming the reopening of businesses in some states. 

“The country is in a great place and it’s going to be greater than ever before,'”said Trump.

The president also said that the U.S. would now be sending its surplus ventilators to other countries, including Germany.

“We have tremendous capacity, now over-capacity of ventilators,” said Trump. 

According to Worldometer, there are currently 777,243 active coronavirus cases in the US, with 36,148 cases having been detected in the past 24 hours.

US Food and Drug Administration commissioner Stephen Hahn then took over to talk about expanded coronavirus testing and treatment, as well as antibody testing. Hahn addressed concerns about some antibody tests being inaccurate, saying that these tests would not be put into place until they were proven safe and accurate.

Vice-President Mike Pence spoke for the remainder of the short press conference, offering a national overview as well as state-specific spotlights on progress made against the virus. Pence welcomed the use of websites to facilitate access to testing in both Iowa and Utah. He also praised a Missouri website highlighting those companies that are repurposing their manufacturing activities towards production of medical supplies.

Neither President Trump nor Vice-President Pence accepted any questions from reporters. Trump’s daily COVID-19 press conferences have often lasted for hours, whereas today’s conference lasted only 22 minutes.

But Twitter went wild ridiculing the president, who backed down on his  statements, calling them sarcastic.

Sarcasm?

We are still in the middle of a pandemic aren’t we? People are dying aren’t they?

We’ve lost 50,000+ Americans. Right?

The President’s team told him to brush it off as a joke?

Do I have that right? #TrumpDisinfectant #TrumpIsNotADoctor #TrumpIsALaughingStock pic.twitter.com/dioyKnFKDB

— Carol Sabik-Jaffe (@CarolSabikJaffe) April 24, 2020

Ya think? #TrumpIsALaughingStock pic.twitter.com/shZEVD7RYj

— Royanna Fritschmann (@RoyannaLea) April 24, 2020

*BREAKING NEWS*
Trump appoints new head of HHS.#Lysol #Clorox #MrClean #TrumpIsNotADoctor #TrumpIsAMoron #TrumpIsALaughingStock #TrumpIsTheWORSTPresidentEVER #TrumpIsTheVirus #ElectAVirusExpectAPandemic #TrumpPressConference #TrumpIsKillingAmericans #TrumpLiesPeopleDie #Trump pic.twitter.com/jDJRjz6F4l

— Andrea Wikso (@kismet66) April 24, 2020

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A year into Donald Trump’s presidency, New Yorkers can’t seem to agree on whether the presidency is a nightmare or a cause for celebration.

“Unbelievable, he couldn’t do better,” said Tony Alaio, from Brooklyn. “The stock market’s up 26,000, women’s unemployment is at a 27-year high, black unemployment at a 17-year high, we have a conservative in the Supreme Court.”

But New York City is considered a haven for the left, so you don’t have to travel far to get a different opinion.

“He’s a dictator, because he puts hate in people,” said Lilly Rivers, a Puerto Rican native who has lived in Staten Island for more than 40 years. “He’s a piece of shit, he belongs to jail. If I find him I’m gonna put a piece of masking tape on his boca. (mouth) He’s got a cancer in the mouth.”

While many New Yorkers believe Trump’s way of communicating is wrong, his supporters see his lack of tact as pure candor. They even supported him in the thick of the so-called “shithole” controversy.

Marsha Hodgson in Staten Island, New York. Photo Credit: Stella Levantesi.

“So he has a big mouth, but he says what’s on his mind,” said Marsha Hodgson of Staten Island. “I’m happy, Trump’s trying to do something that’s better than what we’ve had for decades and I actually believe in him now.”

But Will Davis, 25, also of Staten Island, said Trump supporters are a bigger problem than Trump.

“As long as they (Trump’s supporters) keep feeding into his bullshit we’re gonna be stuck dealing with him,” said Davis.

For the first time in American history, U.S. politics has been dictated by a president’s appetite to tweet. From asserting his “very stable genius” remark as a counter reply to recent doubts raised about his sanity, to bragging about how big his “nuclear button” was compared to that of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, Trump seems to keep coming up with ways to both entertain and frustrate Americans, one tweet at a time.

Rachid Barry (left) and his friend Cinthia Traore in the Financial District, New York. Photo Credit: Stella Levantesi.

“I don’t think this guy’s fit for the office of the presidency,” said Rachid Barry, a West African living in East Florida. “I believe maybe four to five people left his administration in a year, that already shows that something’s not right.”

Others blame the media.

“The problem’s the media who’s divisive,” said Alaio. “They have their own global agenda, not in the interest of the American people.”

Some New Yorkers have had enough and denounce both parties.

Brian Tanner, New Yorker waiting for a train at Whitehall St station, New York. Photo Credit: Stella Levantesi.

“I think it’s an embarrassment,” said Brian Tanner of Manhattan, “And the reaction of the public on the Republican side is even more an embarrassment, their lack of back bone or spine to stand up to Trump. I’m also disappointed that no one on the left has emerged as a clear counterweight to everything he says. It seems kind of wishy washy and everyone’s disgusted, but there’s no real representation of an alternative.”

With 10 more months to go before the midterm elections, New Yorkers will each take a side in the battle, fighting or endorsing those tweets, and everything that lies beneath them.

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Taha Siddiqui, 28, features writer for The Express Tribune, Pakistan, writes mostly on human rights issues.

In 2002, Mukhtara Mai, a Pakistani woman from the village of Meerwala, was gang raped on the orders of a village council. The rape was ordered as punishment because her younger brother was said to have committed adultery with a woman from a higher-caste tribe.

Pedro Pizano, the Global Media Liaison for the Oslo Freedom Forum, said that as soon as he posted an article about Mai on his Facebook page, he was flooded with responses from all over the globe. He said by sharing posts online, women experiencing similar traumas can better identify with cases like that of Mai.

“Posting on the social media definitely drove a lot of traffic,” said Pizano.

Social media is increasingly being used as a tool in highlighting issues of women from the developing world. Through the use of photos, videos and blogs on Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook,Twitter and other social media sites, organizations and activists are engaging faster with readers and internet surfers.

“We have Twitter accounts in Spanish and English and use these to spread news,” Pizano said. “But those 140 characters have to be backed by a link such as an article, a photo or a survey or they don’t add any value to news.”

Audio_for_class.mp3

Pedro Pizano talks discusses the power of social media

According to a Reporters Without Borders annual index of the countries where freedom of expression does not exist – such as Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Pakistan and Iran – social media plays a central role by highlighting issues the mainstream media does not.

“In developing countries like Egypt and Syria, where there’s a lot of repression, it’s a powerful tool for people to reach out,” said Pizano.

A photo of ‘The Girl in the Blue Bra,’ a female protester beaten by Egyptian police during clashes in Cairo’s Tahrir Square last December, is on Pinterest, an online pinboard, where people organize and share photos of interest to them.

“When people see a powerful picture such as the girl in Egypt, it resonates with them,” said Nina Mandell, a reporter for the New York Daily News, who also covers social media. “We find out about a lot of stories in the developing world through Facebook.”

Mandell said she and her colleagues find Twitter to be the best way to find photos.

Taha Siddiqui, a features writer for the Express Tribune who covers human rights issues in Pakistan, said that at times he finds serious international issues only on tweets.

“Lots of times there are killings or violence in places like FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), where journalists are seen tweeting about news while it never makes it to mainstream media,” Siddiqui said. “Even if it is reported through unverified sources, it makes one feel there is more to it than what is being shown.”

Twitter and Facebook are increasingly being used to engage people and generate debates on issues of social relevance. Many NGOs now tweet about social events, fundraising and emergency situations.

“The increasing popularity of Twitter and Facebook has made people contact us from the third world,” said Caroline Berger, a website and social media administrator for Equality Now, a non-profit organization that addresses discrimination against women around the world. “Even if they don’t have Facebook for assistance, they send us an email and we use our social media platforms to bring attention to issues of discrimination and women’s rights.”

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The Occupy Wall Street Direct Action march poster.

With a crackdown of Occupy Wall Street protestors in other cities across the country, the group in the epicenter of it all in Zuccotti Park is scheduling a massive day of “direct action” on Thursday with aims to have protestors occupying every block of New York City.

Dubbed the National Day of Action or N17 it includes a march from City Hall to the Brooklyn Bridge, the site of 700 arrests on October 1.

Bold flyers are being spread through social media via Twitter, urging followers to “Occupy Every Block,” and use the hashtag, #N17. A Facebook event is also in the works. Protests are expected to begin at 7 a.m. in front of the New York Stock Exchange where demonstrators will use “mass non-violent direct action” to “Shut Down Wall Street.”

The plan is for the protest to spread across the five boroughs simultaneously at 3 p.m. as protesters take over 16 central subway stations and ride into the city as one unit.

A presence of unity is one that the protestors have worked to develop. Bret Rothstein, 24, a member of the OWS press working group, explains that embracing togetherness has already occurred at Zuccotti Park.

“The goal is getting everybody together, all the occupations,” Rothstein said. “We are all obviously on the same page, we are all here for the same common goal.”

Michael Frock, wears red paint from a morning meditation session in Zuccotti Park. Frock believes Thursday's Day of Action will be huge for the movement. Photo by Joann Pan

Michael Frock, 24, from the Upper East Side, has been occupying Zuccotti Park for approximately a month and believes the Day of Action will be big for the movement.

“I would love to see all the 99 percent go home, not go to work, not go to school and occupy with their families,” he said.

The movement is about letting the government know that citizens are upset and giving those living in frustration an arena to speak, according to Frock.

“If enough people do that on one day it will make the message loud and clear,” he said. “The message is that, ‘You can’t live without us.’ [The 1 percent] treats us like we are invisible, so now we are going to act as if we were, and see how they do on that day.”

Chris Carter, 28, believes the Day of Action, will bring the various groups in different cities. Photo by Joann Pan

Chris Carter, 28, from Bethlehem, Pa., said the Day of Action will be a step towards making the various occupations and their corresponding communities cohesive parts of the global movement.

“It shows that it’s not just city to city, but that we are all connected,” Carter said. “Hopefully it will show the solidarity we have, not just with the people in occupations, but all together. We are all a part of the 99 percent.”

Molly Smith, 35, of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, who was crocheting hats for those in Zuccotti Park on Sunday, is unsure of whether she will partake in the Day of Action. Still, she said she fully supports the idea.

“I like that idea. I really wonder if I would be gutsy enough to walk out of my school,” said Smith, a teacher in the West Village. “But I talk about it at lunch all the time and I can’t believe how little people know of it in terms of how it would affect them.”

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The new Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon" offers Facebook users a chance to win show tickets. More productions are now using social media to broaden their audiences.

The Broadway shows “The Book of Mormon” and “Chicago” couldn’t be more different on the surface. One follows two mismatched Mormons on a mission and the other tells the story of murder, greed and the luster of celebrity in the jazz age through a series of Vaudeville inspired song and dance numbers.

Yet they do have one thing in common: Facebook and Twitter.

The two productions have both taken creative approaches to appeal to theater lovers and broaden their audiences. Reaching across the footlights to connect with patrons, both shows are getting noticed for the clever application of social networking tools.

Set to open this spring, “The Book of Mormon,” a new musical by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, as well as Tony Award winner Robert Lopez, is already making its presence known on popular social networking websites.

Freelance writer Matt Patches, 24, said his online connection with the production first began when the “The Book of Mormon” Twitter account came knocking.

“I only followed them because they followed me,” Patches said, referring to the site’s terminology for interacting with other users. “They’re really trying to push social media. I haven’t really seen others out there doing it the way that they have.”

Patches attended a special 25-minute preview performance of the production last month, after the show’s press representatives invited his news outlet, Collider, to stop by.

He said the invite was unusual and unexpected; Broadway shows rarely reach out to sites like Collider, which focuses on movies, television and tech content.

“There were some Broadway writers there that were covering their beat, but a lot of us cover humor and movies,” Patches said. “I think they’re saying to the non-theater people that ‘Hey, you can go see this show and it will be up your alley too.’”

Ian Klein, dramaturg and M.F.A. candidate at Columbia University, also attended the show preview. Moments after sharing his thoughts on his website, “The Book of Mormon” sprang into action via Twitter.

Ian Klein, dramaturg and M.F.A candidate at Columbia University, was one of many invited to a preview performance of "The Book of Mormon." Photo by Ryan Chavis.

“I went home that evening and I had taken notes and everything,” Klein, 25, said. “I wrote an article and within minutes it was picked up by “The Book of Mormon” Twitter feed – I think they really appreciated the content.”

“The Book of Mormon” social media campaign has implemented a game on Facebook that allows users to perform a set of daily tasks to earn points and ultimately spread word of the production with their friends online. The top 50 “missionaries” will receive two free tickets to the final dress rehearsal of the show Feb. 23.

On the other end of the musical spectrum, the revival of “Chicago” is proving that after 14 years on Broadway, it too can benefit from social media. The production offered a performance Jan. 30 for Facebook fans, free of charge.

But there was a catch: fans had to spread word of the show’s Facebook page with 10 friends in order to gain admission to the special performance.

Despite its age, “Chicago” is still kicking its legs sky high. The production announced earlier this month that Christie Brinkley would be joining the cast as murderess Roxie Hart, a message that was heralded on both its Twitter and Facebook accounts after Brinkley herself made the announcement on “Oprah.”

Still, Klein said, even with the creative latitude older shows have through social media, they can still be at a disadvantage.

“It’s easy for new shows to say ‘Yeah, we’re young, hip and with the times,’” he said. “But with the shows that have been running a long time, they need to constantly re-evaluate their marketing campaigns and that can be hard.”

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