Trump: News media misstated CDC director's comment about coronavirus' fall return

President Trump on Wednesday blasted The Washington Post and CNN, saying that they misrepresented comments made by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield. 

"The headline in The Washington Post was totally inaccurate," Trump said during the daily White House coronavirus task force briefing. "The statement wasn't bad in The Post, but the headline was ridiculous, which is, as I say, 'fake news.' And CNN is fake news like crazy. And they just totally had the story wrong, which they knew. They were asked to change it, and they wouldn't do that and it was false."

The president appeared to be referencing a Washington Post article titled "CDC director warns second wave of coronavirus is likely to be even more devastating."

At the White House briefing, Dr. Redfield said that The Post correctly quoted him, though he described the headline as "inappropriate."

"There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” The Post quotes Redfield as stating. “We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time.” 

Redfield also sought at the briefing to clarify the meaning of his remarks, saying that the situation next fall/winter could possibly bring more difficulties because the coronavirus and the flu will be circulating at the same time. 

"But I think it's really important to emphasize what I didn't say. I didn't say that this was gonna be worse," he said.

"The key to my comments, and the reason that I really wanted to stress them, was to appeal to the American public to embrace the flu vaccine with confidence," Redfield also said.