Trump presented graphs 'I never made', says former White House COVID adviser Deborah Birx

Dr Deborah Birx, who had been one of the White House's chief coronavirus response coordinators under the Donald Trump administration, said that crucial information about the pandemic was altered and there was denial about the severity of the virus. In a televised interview with CBS, Birx spoke about the previous administration’s response to the pandemic and said that the progress against the virus was impeded by inconsistent and inept public messaging that played down the gravity of the deadly virus and immediate need for safety precautions. She added that COVID deniers in Trump White House had “derailed” the response as they believed that the pandemic was a “hoax”. 

This disbelief was echoed in many pockets across the United States, she said at CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ program. When asked if she blamed Trump, who repeatedly downplayed the virus, Birx said that some statements made by political leaders “derailed” the coronavirus response. She added that incomplete messaging had a devastating consequence and further noted that communication is the absolute key. 

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Birx also said that because of inconsistent statements by leaders, she went out on the road as she wasn’t censored there. The former army physician had travelled to several states in the summer and fall, speaking to governors and local officials about the severity of the pandemic. Moreover, while describing the flow of information to Trump, she said that it was “chaotic and uncoordinated”. Birx said that to this day, she did not know the source of some of the data he was receiving. 

Birx says she considered quitting 

Birx went on to say that she believes that the 2020 election was a factor in how information about the coronavirus was shared and that she had always considered quitting her White House role under Trump. “I mean, why would you want to put yourself through that every day? Colleagues of mine that I've known for decades — decades — in that one experience, because I was in the White House, decided that I had become this political person, even though they've known me forever," she said. 

“I always feel like I could have done more, been more outspoken, maybe been more outspoken publicly,” Birx added. “I didn’t know all the consequences of all of these issues.”

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Birx has long promoted a data-driven response to disease outbreaks and she even suggested such efforts were undermined by people working in the Trump White House. She said that unknown advisers were supplying “parallel” coronavirus data to the former president. “I saw the president presenting graphs that I never made,” she said. Birx said that whenever she had a significant disagreement with policy and practice announced by the White House, a negative report about that dispute would appear in the media within days.

She has also come under intense criticism from public health experts for being a part of the Trump apparatus that was promoting misleading information and guidance. She was even faulted for not countering Trump’s misinformation or promotion of certain bogus treatment and for not adequately addressing the conflicting messages and approaches coming from the White House. However, during the interview, Birx said that she was not able to do national press and the other thang that was important to her was that she was not going to go outside the chain of command. Birx said that whenever she had a significant disagreement with policy and practice announced by the White House, a negative report about that dispute would appear in the media within days.

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