Trump says he didn’t know of, still hasn’t seen Navarro memos on possible pandemic. By CAITLIN OPRYSKO, 04/07/2020
“President Donald Trump on Monday denied that he’d ever seen a handful of memos, written and circulated through the White House by his top trade adviser beginning in January, that warned the coronavirus could cost the country trillions of dollars and imperil the lives of millions of Americans. At the White House during a coronavirus task force news briefing, the president said he’d learned of Peter Navarro’s memos, the contents of which were first disclosed on Monday night, only a few days ago, but he asserted that the documents lined up with his travel restrictions for foreigners coming from China.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/trump-peter-navarro-coronavirus-memos-174237
He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure on the Virus. Lipton, Eric; Sanger, David E; Haberman, Maggie; Shear, Michael D; Mazzetti, Mark; Barnes, Julian E. New York Times, Apr 11, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html
‘An examination reveals the president was warned about the potential for a pandemic but that internal divisions, lack of planning and his faith in his own instincts led to a halting response…A memo dated Feb. 14, prepared in coordination with the National Security Council and titled “U.S. Government Response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus,” documented what more drastic measures would look like, including: “significantly limiting public gatherings and cancellation of almost all sporting events, performances, and public and private meetings that cannot be convened by phone. Consider school closures. Widespread ‘stay at home’ directives from public and private organizations with nearly 100% telework for some.” The memo did not advocate an immediate national shutdown, but said the targeted use of “quarantine and isolation measures” could be used to slow the spread in places where “sustained human-to-human transmission” is evident.’
A librarian is seeking the National Security Council memo to make it available to the public.
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