Kushner sparking 'confusion' by routing COVID-19 response through Trump's 'corporate allies': WaPo reporter
Reporter Robert Costa revealed that Jared Kushner has been coordinating the distribution of medical supplies with Republican donors.
The Washington Post national political reporter said President Donald Trump's son-in-law has sparked confusion in those efforts by placing himself in the chain of command, and both Kushner and trade adviser Peter Navarro were contradicting advice from White House medical experts.
"When you ask about the inner circle, it is clear to me," Costa told MSNBC's "Morning Joe," "based on my reporting, that Peter Navarro, more than anyone now, whether it's on urging the president to take a position that's different than Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, or when it comes to the Defense Production Act, nudging corporations, sometimes pushing corporations to do what the White House wants, that Navarro is at the center."
"Jared Kushner is there and he's really being a liaison to different donors, to different corporate allies of this administration, which has created confusion about the chain of command, about whether corporations should work through Jared, whether they should work through Vice President [Mike] Pence and the task force," he added.
Navarro and other Trump advisers, including Rudy Giuliani, have been overriding medical experts on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine against the coronavirus, and Costa said the president's confidence in that unproven drug was not matched by science.
"That scene at the [Centers for Disease Control] from weeks ago, where the president says he is quite familiar with medicine, even though he is not a medical professional, is a statement that you often hear inside of the White House," Costa said. "Top officials say the president has confidence that's not backed up by experience or data. This is an alarming situation for not only people in the White House but many governors. They say if the president keeps talking about hydroxychloroquine in a way that is encouraging people to go seek it out, you're going to have a medical, chaotic situation in this country, where people are trying to get a drug that's not truly proven as efficacious for treating coronavirus and COVID-19."