| | | Report: Trump Ignored Pleas To Put Social Distancing Practices In Place, Warnings Of A Pandemic
Matt PerezForbes Staff
Topline: A new report from the New York Times details early warnings issued to President Trump and his administration throughout early January and February that were ignored because of potential impacts to the economy, Trump’s reelection and trade relations with China, including guidance for social distancing practices weeks before they were issued by the president.
Dr. Robert Kadlec, the Department of Health and Human Services’ lead on disaster response, met with the White House’s coronavirus task force on February 21, 2020, and the group concluded that social distancing measures, including school closures, would need to take place soon.The group intended to present Trump with their plan after he returned from a trip to India—a February 14, 2020, memo prepared with the National Security Council went over guidelines like canceling sporting events and issuing stay-at-home directives nationwide—but on February 25, 2020, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, put out a public warning that echoed the task force's plan but infuriated Trump as it impacted the stock market.Instead of conducting a meeting with the task force about the need for social distancing, Trump instead had a briefing on February 26, 2020, where he replaced Dr. Alex Azar, the secretary of Health and Human Services, as the head of the coronavirus task force with Vice President Mike Pence, with a focus on controlling the message so as not to impact the economy.The report also details the struggles officials went through in convincing Trump and his administration to put in place social distancing measures, including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who argued with national security advisor Robert O'Brien during an Oval Office meeting, claiming the economy could be destroyed.Trump reportedly pushed back against social distancing because his “business friends” told him it would hurt the economy. Senior advisor Jared Kushner brought in former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb to convince Trump, and Pence also tried to help, but it was Dr. Deborah Birx, now a familiar face on the coronavirus task force, who finally got through to Trump.Echoing a Washington Post report in March, officials in early January were reportedly issuing early warnings of the pandemic, with the State Department's epidemiologist writing the virus could turn into a pandemic and biodefense experts in the National Security Council telling officials to think about preparations for city-size quarantines.Azar in particular was reportedly told by Trump in January to “stop panicking” after he called him about a potential pandemic, and a plan by Azar to set up surveillance in five cities that would have cost $100 million fell through in February as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention struggled to issue working tests....
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