Trump administration privately warned wealthy donors while publicly downplaying the coronavirus
October 15, 2020 in Blogs
By Igor Derysh
The Trump administration publicly downplayed the coronavirus in the early days of the pandemic while giving major Republican donors private warnings. The information helped elite traders “gain financial advantage during a chaotic three days when global markets were teetering,” according to The New York Times.
President Donald Trump repeatedly downplayed the threat posed by the virus in February. He claimed on Feb. 24 that it was “very much under control” in the U.S., and the stock market was “starting to look very good to me.”
That same day, Trump’s economic team privately gave a less optimistic briefing to board members of the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank whose members often donate to Republican candidates.
Top economic adviser Larry Kudlow also sought to publicly insist that the virus was “contained,” and the economy was “holding up nicely” on Feb. 25.
But privately, Kudlow was not as certain in his Hoover presentation later that day, where he was quoted as saying the virus was “contained in the U.S., to date, but now we just don’t know.”
The private comments were included in a lengthy email by hedge fund consultant William Callanan, who detailed the three-day Hoover event to hedge fund manager and top Republican donor David Tepper before it was distributed it to others.
“What struck me,” Callanan wrote, was that nearly all officials brought up the virus “as a point of concern, totally unprovoked.”
Kudlow “revised his statement about the virus being contained,” he added.
Tomas Philipson, the chairman of Trump’s Council of Economic advisers, acknowledged to The Times that he had expressed uncertainty during the private briefing. Kudlow also did not dispute that he had made the comments. The former CNBC anchor told the outlet that he believed his comments were not materially different from his public ones.
“There was never any intent on my part to misinform,” he said.
The Hoover Institution, which is led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, includes board members like Fox News mogul Rupert Murdoch, who did not attend the meeting.
There has also been a revolving door between the think tank and the Trump administration. Joshua Rauh, one of the economists who spoke at the meeting, has since rejoined the institution. Kevin Hassett, who moderated the panel and served as the top White House …read more
Source: ALTERNET
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