The White House ignored a literal 'pandemic playbook' as it struggled to mount its coronavirus fight

Trump talks coronavirus
(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

The White House has a color-coded, 69-page instruction manual for fighting pandemics, and had President Trump's staff used it, Politico reports, the "playbook would have been especially useful in helping to drive the administration's response to coronavirus, given that it was intended to guide urgent decisions and coordinate the all-of-government approach that Trump so far has struggled to muster." It would have advised action in mid-January to procure medical supplies, activate relevant agencies, and craft a unified communication strategy.

The National Security Council document, known as "the pandemic playbook," was compiled in 2016 to provide instructions for an expeditious, full-government response to a pandemic, drawn largely from lessons learned during the 2014-15 Ebola pandemic. The Trump administration was briefed on the playbook in 2017, and Trump's former homeland security adviser Tom Bossert "expressed enthusiasm about its potential as part of the administration's broader strategy to fight pandemics," Politico reports.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.