- Dr. Deborah Birks is coming out with a new book that tells the story of her time in the Trump administration.
- Birks says her first meeting with Trump in March 2020 on COVID-19 lasted only 30 seconds.
- Birks unsuccessfully tried to impress Trump that the new coronavirus is much more serious than the flu.
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Dr. Deborah Birks’ first meeting with President Donald Trump on COVID-19 lasted just 30 seconds before he lost interest and turned the channel to Fox News, Birks wrote in his new memoir.
Birks, a leading public health expert and diplomat known for his work on HIV / AIDS, was persuaded by Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger to step down at the State Department as the US Global AIDS Coordinator to serve as a coordinator. of the Whites The newly formed House Coronavirus Working Group.
Birks first met with Trump on March 2, 2020, nine days before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. So far, however, global public health experts, who are closely monitoring the virus’s spread, have been concerned.
The purpose of Birks at this meeting, she wrote, was to convince Trump of the urgency of the situation and to convey that the highly contagious and deadly COVID-19 virus, which can be spread largely by asymptomatic people, is nothing like the seasonal flu.
But when Birks finally caught Trump’s attention in the crowded room, things didn’t go as he had hoped.
“Mr. President, this is not like the flu. This is much more serious than the flu. We need to shape our response differently, “Birks recalled, telling Trump.
Trump, she wrote, made a “shiny face” with a smile before replying, “Well, the people I’m talking to say it won’t get any worse than the flu.”
“Mr President, I do not know who you are talking to, but I have evidence that fully supports the conclusion that this outbreak will be nothing like seasonal flu or even pandemic flu. This virus is very deadly, “she said.
“Well, these are good people,” he said, according to Birks. “Smart people. I trust these people. They know what they’re talking about.”
Birks reiterated his concern about the virus, but Trump lost interest.
“His eyes return to the television screens. He reaches for the remote control and the voice of someone from Fox News enters what happened for a conversation between us, “writes Birks. “I do not hear the rest. Someone takes a few steps towards me and points to the door. I had less than thirty seconds to talk to the president.
Birks wrote that other presidents she has worked for, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama, “have had the ability to shift gears and focus their attention in a way that President Trump does not.”
“I will not make him change,” she wrote. “I have to change my approach. Experience has taught me that you have to meet people where they are.”
In Tuesday’s book, Silent Invasion: The Untold Story of the Trump Administration, Covid-19 and Preventing the Next Pandemic Before It Was Too Late, Birks described his own tumultuous White House mission as COVID-19 Force. and the numerous omissions and mistakes in dealing with the virus by the Trump administration.
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