In the middle of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, a new revelation sheds light on the behind-the-scenes diplomatic activities concocted by former President Donald J. Trump’s administration. The information comes from a book titled Red-handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, penned by journalist Peter Schweizer. As reported in the book, amid the shortage of COVID-19 tests in the United States, the Trump administration covertly sent rapid COVID-19 test kits to Russia, particularly to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle.
The beginning of the pandemic was an alarming and chaotic situation across the globe. During March 2020, the United States, like many other nations, was grappling with a shortage of COVID-19 test kits. Amidst the precarity, the Trump administration tackled the issue as a matter of national health security. Still, controversially, a part of its response was to clandestinely send rapid diagnostic tests to Russia, an act that was executed quietly, as mentioned in Schweizer’s book.
Figures from the past administration, such as Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, reportedly made this decision to cater to a dire request from the Kremlin. The Russian administration, it is said, was seeking rapid COVID-19 tests, as Putin and his entourage wanted to ensure their safety from the virus. The Trump administration, Schweizer mentions, swiftly attended to this priority request.
These covert operations were not just a simple activity of shipping packages containing COVID-19 tests to Russia but required a substantial level of covert operations. As per other outlets such as Axios drawing from Schweizer’s book, the United States reportedly put into action Trump’s diplomatic security, dispatching an official from the State Department, to deliver the much-needed COVID-19 tests.
This clandestine operation, though initially concealed, has now come to the forefront due to Schweizer’s exposé. It puts the Trump administration in the hot seat over its decision to send valuable COVID-19 test resources to Russia amidst a severe shortage in the United States, disturbing the equilibrium of a nation desperately seeking to test its citizens.
Schweizer’s book also questions the reasoning behind sending limited resources abroad during a time when the nation was itself grappling with rising cases of COVID-19. As the country was experiencing a significant shortage in COVID-19 testing, diverting valuable resources seems quite nonchalant and raises a cloud of suspicion about Trump’s administration actions during this time.
The United States was not alone in experiencing a shortage of COVID-19 tests. Various countries found themselves ill-equipped to manage the sudden onslaught of the pandemic that stretched their health infrastructure to the brink. This situation led to volatility, and any misuse or misdirection of scarce resources, such as what occurred via this covert operation by the Trump administration, certainly adds an additional layer to the pandemonium of pandemic politics.
Overall, Schweizer’s book presents a narrative of an unusual diplomatic initiative by Trump’s administration that unveils some yet unexplored aspects of the United States’ response amidst the pandemic. This, inevitably, raises questions on priorities, secrecy, and international diplomacy intermingled with the crisis.