The Trump administration task force working on supply chains for medical and personal protective equipment, run by Jared Kushner and his friends and allies has "pushed aside federal emergency management response teams that had long-established methods for engaging assistance from the public and private sectors" and instead "first reached out to personal contacts," NBC News reported Sunday.
"Jared and his friends decided they were going to do their thing," a senior government official involved in the response effort told NBC News of the group collectively called "the children" inside the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters where they worked. "It cost weeks."
CBS News' 60 Minutes spoke with Peter Navarro, Trump's trade adviser and newly minted supply-chain manager, about why the Trump administration appeared to be caught flat-footed by the pandemic. "In his new role, Navarro is in charge of the federal response of getting personal protective equipment, or PPE, for America's medical workers," Bill Whitaker said to set up a clip in 60 Minutes Overtime. "Navarro was at times more interested in questioning 60 Minutes' record than in discussing preparations the Trump administration made for this global pandemic."
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Navarro issued 60 Minutes a specific challenge, in fact: "I challenge you: Show me the 60 Minutes episode a year ago, two years ago, or during the Obama administration, during the Bush administration, that said, 'Hey, global pandemic's coming, you gotta do X, Y, and Z, and by the way, we would shut down the entire global economy to fight it.' Show me that episode, then you'll have some credence in terms of attacking the Trump administration for not being prepared." Whitaker showed that, by Navarro's standards, 60 Minutes had plenty of credence to criticize Trump's level of preparedness. Watch below. Peter Weber
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