Posted on 04/06/2020 9:29:16 PM PDT by Bigtigermike
Dated Jan. 29, it came during a period when Mr. Trump was playing down the risks to the United States, and he would later go on to say that no one could have predicted such a devastating outcome.
Mr. Navarro said in the memo that the administration faced a choice about how aggressive to be in containing an outbreak, saying the human and economic costs would be relatively low if it turned out to be a problem along the lines of a seasonal flu.
But he went on to emphasize that the risk of a worst-case pandemic scenario should not be overlooked given the information coming from China
The memo was dated the same day that Mr. Trump named a White House task force to deal with the threat, and as the administration was weighing whether to bar some travelers from China, an option being pushed by Mr. Navarro
Mr. Trump would approve the limits on travel from China the next day, though it would be weeks before he began taking more aggressive steps to head off spread of the virus.
Questions about Mr. Trumps handling of the crisis, especially in its early days when he suggested it was being used by Democrats to undercut his re-election prospects, are likely to define his presidency. Mr. Navarros memo is evidence that some in the upper ranks of the administration had at least considered the possibility of the outbreak turning into something far more serious than Mr. Trump was acknowledging publicly at the time.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Thanks to RayChuang88 for the above. The media/press hasn't changed in well over a hundred years.
Apparently Trump did not downplay the risks that much or he wouldnt have restricted flights from China TWO days later.
And he created the COVID-19 Task Force on 1/29 too.
The WUHAN FLU DELIVERY SYSTEM
The Laptop
The Lugi
The ELEVATOR
Door Handles
Chinese Checkers
Air Mail
No more for Americans!
Closing down the country to China is not downplaying the threat
Memo dated 29 JAN... “The memo was dated the same day that Mr. Trump named a White House task force to deal with the threat”
Would appear that the first Memo was reflecting the thinking already underway by the President and his senior leaders...the Task Force was considered well before Dr. Navarro’s Memo and was led by HHS Sec Azar until Vice President Pence was tapped to lead the effort on 26 FEB...the same day Dr. Birx was named the Coronavirus Response Coordinator.
The Task Force was well underway by the time of Dr Navarro’s second Memo on 23 FEB.
Some additional info in a 27 FEB article in USA Today, complete with the tone to be expected.
Dammit, make up your minds, NYT. Is a trade advisor qualified to make medical assessments or isn’t he?
Trump is not a snowflake crying POS. Of course he wouldn’t want to scare people....like the left is doing.
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