Newly revealed emails add to 'growing body of evidence' that Trump was aware of coronavirus threat early on

published 14 September 2021

Email exchanges obtained by the House's select subcommittee on the COVID-19 pandemic "add to the growing body of evidence that the Trump administration knew the significant risk posed by the coronavirus but failed to execute an effective strategy to reduce the loss of American lives," Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) wrote in a letter to former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday, per The Washington Post.

In one email dated Feb. 29, 2020, Steven Hatfill, a virologist advising the administration, told Navarro that "we do not have a clue how many people are infected" in the United States, and warned that the first wave of cases "will be accompanied by a massive loss of credibility" for the White House. He urged "frank honesty" and "decisive direct actions" from the federal government just hours after former President Donald Trump had publicly undersold the threat of the virus and praised his team's response.

Navarro went on to tell Trump the next day that their response was "not fast enough" and a "very serious public health emergency" was coming, but public rhetoric didn't change much in the aftermath. Read more at The Washington Post.