Right-wing Nationalist and Xenphobic Donald Trump follows the Mao Zedong's playbook of denial and downplaying the seriousness of CoV-2 virus: "I build a wall, we're invincible." Indeed, Trump has postured himself and US policy based on isolationism: "We don't fight them over there, our boys are coming home."

A fatal period of hesitation regarding information-sharing and action spawned anxiety, panic, and rumor-mongering across the country and undermined the government's efforts to create a milder image of itself in the international arena.

The Chinese virus as a Democratic hoax!!

China: SARS Outbreak In 2002

The SARS Epidemic and Its Aftermath In China: A Political Perspective

In November 2002, a form of atypical pneumonia called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) began spreading rapidly around the world, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the ailment "a worldwide health threat." At the epicenter of the outbreak was China, where the outbreak of SARS infected more than 5,300 people and killed 349 nationwide (Ministry of Health, 2003). History is full of ironies: the epidemic caught China, at first, unprepared to defeat the disease 45 years after Mao Zedong bade "Farewell to the God of Plagues."

○ Testimony before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China Roundtable on SARS -- May 12, 2003

The SARS epidemic was not simply a public health problem. Indeed, it caused the most severe socio-political crisis for the Chinese leadership since the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Outbreak of the disease fueled fears among economists that China's economy was headed for a serious downturn.

A fatal period of hesitation regarding information-sharing and action spawned anxiety, panic, and rumor-mongering across the country and undermined the government's efforts to create a milder image of itself in the international arena. As Premier Wen Jiabao pointed out in a cabinet meeting on the epidemic, "the health and security of the people, overall state of reform, development, and stability, and China's national interest and international image are at stake (Zhongguo xinwen wang, 2003a)."

In the weeks that followed, the Chinese government launched a crusade against SARS, effectively bringing the disease under control in late June and eliminating all known cases by mid-August.

Life in China recovers.

○ Trump dismissed coronavirus pandemic worry in January -- now claims he long warned about it | CNBC |

Trump says he trusts China's Xi on coronavirus and the US has it 'totally under control' | CNBC - Jan. 22, 2020 |

President Donald Trump told CNBC he trusts the information coming out of China on the coronavirus, which has killed nine people and sickened nearly 500 others in that country.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case in the United States.

"We have it totally under control," Trump told "Squawk Box" co-host Joe Kernen in an interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "It's one person coming in from China. We have it under control. It's going to be just fine."

The CDC on Tuesday said a resident of Snohomish County, Washington, who was returning from China on Jan. 15 was diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus.

Of course President Trump was on a political mission, pre-occupied with Business opportunities and the existential threat at home of the Impeachment Trial in Washington DC ...

We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements. They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2020

Protected by his God and anointed by his Believers, Donald couldn't be bothered by a little bug from China ... We've got the BEST scientists at the CDC! I've got the WALL!

U.S. Congress wouldn't let White House NSC Advisor John Bolton testify ... he scrapped the Pandemic Response Team in 2018.

○ For Trump, Coronavirus Proves to Be an Enemy He Can't Tweet Away | NY Times |

○ Defense contractor death marks first military-related coronavirus fatality | The Hill - 2 mins ago |