Trump’s Former Homeland Security Chief Rips Coronavirus Travel Ban: ‘Poor Use of Time & Energy’

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Former homeland security advisor Tom Bossert ripped Donald Trump’s national address on the coronavirus, calling the president’s plan a “poor use of time & energy.”

“There’s little value to European travel restrictions. Poor use of time & energy. Earlier, yes. Now, travel restrictions/screening are less useful,” Bossert said. “We have nearly as much disease here in the US as the countries in Europe. We MUST focus on layered community mitigation measures-Now!”

There’s little value to European travel restrictions. Poor use of time & energy. Earlier, yes. Now, travel restrictions/screening are less useful. We have nearly as much disease here in the US as the countries in Europe. We MUST focus on layered community mitigation measures-Now!

— Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 12, 2020

In his Oval Office speech, Trump announced that “we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days. The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight.” The address was panned by critics, however, since the White House had to offer corrections afterward because Trump was incorrect in how he framed his planned travel restrictions and cutoffs on trade.

Bossert’s comments come days after he warned that America is “10 days from the hospitals getting creamed,” and “officials must pull the trigger on aggressive interventions” in order to prevent overload on the health care system.

UPDATE: Bossert was not done, following twice more with comments critical of the Trump administration:

I have a great public health colleague who manages outbreaks by asking: Two weeks from now, what will we wish we had done today. He puts that question in a little time capsule, and asks you two weeks later what you wish you had said, in retrospect.

— Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 12, 2020

In two weeks, we will regret wasting time and energy on travel restrictions and wish we focused more on hospital preparation and large scale community mitigation.

— Thomas P. Bossert (@TomBossert) March 12, 2020

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