Trump Admin Privately Warned Donors of Coronavirus Economic Impact While Projecting Rosy Public Message: NYT

President Donald Trump’s advisers expressed concern for the U.S. economy in private briefings with major Republican donors while the president was telling the public the new coronavirus was “very much under control,” The New York Times reports. Trump administration officials, including National Economic Council chairman Larry Kudlow, told board members of the conservative Hoover Foundation, many of them top Republican campaign financiers, that the virus’ upcoming impact on the economy was still unknown in February, according to the notes on the meetings written by William Callanan, a longtime hedge fund consultant. Callanan sent his notes to several clients and associates, and the sobering assessment offered to investors behind closed doors reportedly led many in the investment world to sell off or short stocks. The day before the meeting, Kudlow said in a television appearance that the virus had been contained in the U.S. The move echoes the trades of several senators following closed-door coronavirus briefings.