Hare-brained Jared Kushner scheme massively backfired at crucial phase during pandemic: new book

The authors of a new book about former President Donald Trump's handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic are spilling additional details about Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner's role in mismanaging the public health crisis.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Washington Post reporters Damian Paletta and Yasmine Abutaleb explain how one of Kushner's big initiatives at the start of the pandemic actually backfired and slowed down the national response to the deadly disease that has claimed the lives of more than 600,000 Americans.

The initiative in question was a plan to use big-name pharmacies like CVS and Walgreen's as drive-through testing sites to make it easier for Americans to get quick COVID-19 test results.

"When he came in and wanted to launch that initiative, he actually caused a two-week shortage of testing because all the swabs and a lot of the personal protective equipment had been diverted to this drive-thru site," Abutaleb explained.

Abutaleb and Paletta's book, titled "Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration's Response to the Pandemic That Changed History," goes on sale today.