Top aide told Trump in January coronavirus would be his 'largest national security crisis': Report by Katherine Doyle | April 29, 2020 01:54 PM
National security adviser Robert O'Brien sounded an early alarm when he told President Trump in January that the coronavirus would be “the largest national security crisis" of his presidency.
O'Brien advised Trump at the time to take quick action by restricting travel from China and sought to convince his European counterpart to do likewise, according to a new Wall Street Journal report.
White House officials were told to view O'Brien's top aide, Matthew Pottinger, a former Marine and Wall Street Journal reporter who covered the SARS outbreak in China and who expressed concern about the virus early on, as the voice of the National Security Council on issues relating to COVID-19.
Fearing he could spread the virus, Pottinger even wore a mask in front of Trump before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance to do so.
O'Brien, who joined the White House coronavirus task force in late January, also pressed for the addition of Dr. Deborah Birx to the response effort.
Birx joined as a coordinator on Feb. 26 as Vice President Mike Pence was appointed to lead the group.
Like Birx, O'Brien joined the White House from the State Department, where he was the administration’s special envoy for hostage affairs.
At the Security Council, he advised that the White House should maintain focus on competition with China, a view shared by Trump's Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro, who has accused China of "profiteering" during the pandemic.