CDC Officials Claim Ivanka And Kellyanne Conway Meddled With Their COVID Guidelines: ““Every Time That The Science Clashed With The Messaging, Messaging Won”

This is appalling.


655
655 points

Look, we’ve known all along that Donald Trump and his people have been trying to get in the way of a proper pandemic response for this county, for really no other reason than personal and political gain. Since the very first infection of the deadly virus hit the United States, Donald’s only concerns have been the economy, the stock market, and his reelection — all of which ended up gravely suffering because of him.

But a new revelation from two Trump-appointed officials within the Center for Disease Control in an interview with the New York Times takes things to a whole new level when they divulged the true lengths to which the Trump White House went to interfere with the agency’s guidelines regarding public health during the pandemic.

Former CDC chief of staff Kyle McGowan and his deputy, Amanda Campbell sat down for an interview with the publication and how multiple White House officials with no expertise or experience in public health would regularly hand down orders to make changes to the CDC’s pandemic protocol.

The Times report reads, “Mr. McGowan and Ms. Campbell mediated between [CDC Director Robert] Redfield and agency scientists when the White House’s requests and dictates would arrive: edits from… Kellyanne Conway, the former White House adviser, on choirs and communion in faith communities, or suggestions from Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and aide, on schools.”

McGowan claims that the agency repeatedly watered down their guidance and recommendations under heavy pressure from the Trump White House and political team.

“Every time that the science clashed with the messaging, messaging won,” he said in the interview.

McGowan also took the opportunity to call out the White House’s treatment of Dr. Nancy Messonnier — a doctor who angered Trump earlier this year by publicly acknowledging that the coronavirus would soon become a major public health crisis, while Trump was still trying to publicly downplay the severity of it all.

“There’s not a single thing that she said that didn’t come true,” he stated. “Is it more important to have her telling the world and the American public what to be prepared for, or is it just to say, ‘All is well?’”

As the weeks turn into months in regard to the ever-worsening pandemic, it’s becoming more and more clear that Donald Trump and his people have absolutely no interest in the safety, health, and happiness of the very people they swore to protect. All they have ever and will ever care about is themselves.

Featured image via screen capture/ Flickr – Michael Vadon, under Creative Commons license 2.0

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