Trump Ignored US Intelligence Warnings on Coronavirus - Report

By Staff, Agencies

The US intelligence community repeatedly warned US President Donald Trump about the danger posed by the highly contagious coronavirus during the months of January and February, according to a report published by the Washington Post on Friday.

The warnings, however, failed to convince Trump, who despite the information intelligence officials presented to him, downplayed the gravity of the situation and compared the virus to a regular flu outbreak.

By late January, most of the intelligence briefings prepared by the CIA for the White House reportedly cautioned about the virus’ spread in China and elsewhere, the report added.

Additionally, Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, tried for days to get a slot in his schedule to discuss the imminent outbreak of the global pandemic. When he finally managed to hold a phone conversation with Trump, the latter favored discussing flavored vaping products, not the coronavirus, according to senior administration officials cited by the Post.