What the Pentagon Knew About the Coronavirus—in 2017

What the Pentagon Knew About the Coronavirus—in 2017

Ken Klippenstein on the military, Amy Wilentz on Jared Kushner, and Laila Lalami on The Other Americans.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

The Pentagon warned the White House about a shortage of ventilators, face masks, and hospital beds in 2017, according to a document obtained by Ken Klippenstein, The Nation’s Washington correspondent—but of course Trump ignored the warning.

Also: Jared Kusher has a new job on the White House coronavirus task force. His vast responsibilities include weighing requests from governors for aid and coordinating with private companies to obtain medical equipment. Meanwhile Ivanka is at home, reading The Odyssey and playing the guitar. Amy Wilentz comments—she’s our chief Jared correspondent.

Plus: Nation columnist Laila Lalami talks about her novel The Other Americans—it’s about the suspicious death of a Moroccan immigrant in a small town in California. It’s a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story. And it’s out now in paperback.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

Support independent journalism that does not fall in line

Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more. 

But this journalism is possible only with your support.

This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?

Ad Policy
x