Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Obama Official Perfectly Shames Trump With Single Page From the Obama Pandemic Playbook They Left Trump

Obama Official Perfectly Shames Trump With Single Page From the Obama Pandemic Playbook They Left Trump
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images

Even nearly four years into his presidency, President Donald Trump continues to blame his predecessor, former President Barack Obama for every misstep Trump makes.

The pandemic that's upended daily life in the United States and killed 80 thousand Americans is no exception. Trump has baselessly blamed the Obama administration for his own administration's failure to adequately test Americans for the virus in its early stages.


His allies, like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), say Obama left the Trump administration ill-equipped to deal with a pandemic.

In reality, the Obama administration left a detailed playbook on how to anticipate and react to pandemics—a playbook which went largely ignored.

One Obama official—Ebola response director Ronald Klain—revealed the contents of page nine of that playbook.

The page warns against novel strains of respiratory pathogens that would see a higher death rate than their predecessors.

Mentioned among these novel viruses:

"Coronaviruses: MERS-CoV (reservoir: bats, camels) -18-62% [Case Fatality Rate], SARS (reservoir: unknown) 11-17% CFR"

That was just a bit of the full playbook, which laid out priorities, potential scenarios, and early response options—including recommendations for what would be two of Trump's most consequential failures: fully detecting the scope of virus infections and invoking the Defense Production Act to ensure availability of medical equipment to treat those infected.

Klain wasn't the only one to point to the playbook which went ignored when Trump and his allies tried to blame Obama.

Obama's Vice President—and likely 2020 Democratic nominee—Joe Biden clapped back as well.

People weren't buying the spin from Trump.




Once again, Trump's hatred of reading proved dangerous.






For a deeper look into Trump's ineptitude, check out A Very Stable Genius, available here.

More from People/donald-trump

Screenshots from @sweetteataylor's TikTok video
@sweetteataylor/TikTok

Gay Man's Story About A Recent Hookup Takes An Awkward Turn At The Car Wash—And Yikes

We've all heard of the walk of shame, but have we heard of the car wash of shame?

TikToker @sweetteataylor found himself in a uniquely awkward situation after he hooked up with a guy a few nights before via Grindr. When the guy was getting ready to leave, he dropped his wallet, exposing a photo of him with his wife and children.

Keep ReadingShow less
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and Jason Kelce
@newheightsshow/TikTok

Taylor Swift Just Appeared On Travis Kelce's Podcast—And Hilariously Trolled His Fans

There is one vital, earth-shattering, no-going-back difference between Swifties and a certain subgroup of male football fans: Swifties are big fans of Taylor Swift's relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But this group of male football fans?

They hate the relationship so much, they're counting down the days until Kelce retires, just so they hopefully don't have to see Swift in the stands anymore. Talk about conditional love!

Keep ReadingShow less
Matt Rife
Gilbert Flores/GG2025/Penske Media/Getty Images

Fans Outraged After Makeup Brand Features Controversial Comedian Matt Rife In New Ad Campaign

Content warning: domestic violence, joking about domestic violence

From tasteless and harmful domestic violence jokes on Netflix to becoming the protector for haunted dolls, Matt Rife has been hot in the news lately, but honestly, not all news is good news.

Keep ReadingShow less
Skyler Gisondo; Ariana Grande
River Callaway/Variety via Getty Images; Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Ariana Grande Costar Offers Hilarious Reaction After Fan Claims She's Never Cast Opposite 'Hot' Actors

In our chaotic world, there are still a few things you can count on: the sun rising and setting, and "Stan Twitter" being unhinged.

After the announcement of him being cast next to pop diva Ariana Grande, actor Skyler Gisondo was the latest star to learn how pop stans just go on X and say anything that comes to mind.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nikki Hiltz
Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Trans Nonbinary Track Star Nikki Hiltz Shares Powerful Video Documenting Their Top Surgery Journey

United States Olympian Nikki Hiltz is a middle distance runner who in 2021 came out as transgender and nonbinary on International Transgender Day of Visibility.

On August 6 of this year—four years after coming out and four days after winning the national title in the 1500 meter race at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon...

Keep ReadingShow less