In a particularly accusatory and critical review of the U.S. coronavirus response by The Washington Post, President Donald Trump reportedly asked the question in a task force meeting whether they should permit the virus to "wash over" the U.S.
"Why don't we let this wash over the country?" Trump asked Dr. Anthony Fauci last month, two sources told the Post, seeking an answer on the efficacy of a "herd immunity" response to the COVID-19 infection.
The question posed to the National Institutes of Health's infectious disease expert came on the day the U.S. would ultimately add Ireland and the United Kingdom to its travel restrictions amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Clearly, Trump listened to the advice of Fauci, tightening restrictions in the U.S. to protect Americans, instead of relaxing them.
Herd immunity is a Darwinist-like scientific theory that suggests the population is strengthened through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete and survive – aka the survival of the fittest.
"Mr. President, many people would die," Fauci told Trump, per the Post sources.
Trump then moved to expand U.S. travel ban and tighten social distancing protocols, expanding restrictions on large gatherings to a mere 10 or less.
Trump has mentioned this exchange many times in coronavirus task force daily press briefings, explaining how all angles of attacking the coronavirus are being put on the table and debated.
Trump is still hoping to open the U.S. economy back up, but the health experts on the task force are still pushing back at that move until the infection rates in the hardest-hit areas curtail.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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