Trump slams coronavirus whistleblower who says 'lives were endangered' by White House strategy

HHS Secretary Alex Azar slams his former employee, saying the whistleblower's claims 'do not hold water'

Donald Trump slammed Rick Bright, who says he was ousted from his role leading a federal health agency for sounding alarms about the administration's coronavirus response, painting him as nothing more than a "disgruntled" employee.

"To me he is nothing more than a really unhappy disgruntled person," the president said of the former director of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

During a House hearing on Thursday, Mr Bright said "lives were endangered" because of the administration's response approach, saying the White House ignored federal experts' pandemic "playbook."

On the virus outbreak, Mr Trump boldly said, "I think we'll have a vaccine by the end of the year."

But Mr Bright told the House panel that he believes public health experts' predictions of a vaccine in 12 months to 18 months is too optimistic because such a timeline assumes all things will go correctly. But they "never" do, he warned.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar joined Mr Trump on the White House's South Lawn ahead of a trip to a Pennsylvania medical distribution centre, and said of Mr Bright: "His allegations do not hold water."

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Mr Trump pushed back on Mr Bright's warnings about a malaria drug the president has pushed as a treatment drug for Covid-19 – despite the FDA's warnings about side effects that could be deadly. He contended again that he is getting "great" reports about the drug.

The president also, above the loud hum of Marine One's engines, made another call for states to open their economies as he banks of a post-coronavirus economic bounce to help him secure a second term.

The president spoke to reporters as he left the White House for Allentown, Pennsylvania, to tour an Owens and Minor Inc. medical distribution center. He also is scheduled to deliver remarks about changes to the national strategic stockpile, which includes medical equipment and supplies.

The federal government struggled early in the Covid-19 pandemic response because that stockpile lacked enough masks, gloves and ventilators. Along with state and local governments, the federal government was forced to purchase them -- the race for the necessary items created stiff competition as the governments jockeyed against each other to buy them.

Democrats and public health officials slammed Mr Trump and his administration for failing to prevent then end that crisis-time competition.

The administration is aiming to create what a senior administration official earlier on Thursday called a "90-day supply" of critical medical items.

The White House also wants to ensure that production lines for such items are on US soil, to ensure supplies during future health crises and jobs for Americans.

"We don't make a lot of these products in Americans," the senior administration official said.