Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr (R-NC) warned a group of wealthy constituents weeks ago that the coronavirus crisis would be comparable to the 1918 flu pandemic as Donald Trump told the public that “it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” Burr declined to say the same things publicly, maintaining allegiance to White House talking points.
NPR reports: “On that same day, Burr attended a luncheon held at a social club called the Capitol Hill Club. And he delivered a much more alarming message. ‘There’s one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history,” he said, according to a secret recording of the remarks obtained by NPR. “It is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic.’ … The message Burr delivered to the group was dire. Thirteen days before the State Department began to warn against travel to Europe, and fifteen days before the Trump administration banned European travelers, Burr warned those in the room to reconsider.”
