Former CIA Director John Brennan, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump's, said Tuesday he's concerned that the side effects of a steroid the president is taking to battle his COVID infection could lead to security problems for the country.
"We all wish Donald Trump a speedy and full recovery because I believe the American people deserve to see him resoundingly defeated next month," Brennan said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "But I'm concerned about things. One, the side effects of the medication he's on. Confusion and impulsiveness are some of the side effects and the last thing we need is a Donald Trump more impulsive and aggressive than he has been."
Trump has been treated with the steroid dexamethasone, along with an antiviral drug and an antibody cocktail.
Brennan also said he thinks there is a "great preoccupation in the White House about the health of the president and of White House staff, and that makes their response to any crisis "questionable," and he's concerned there are foreign adversaries who may take advantage.
"We need to have very much in command a national security structure and if President Trump is being waylaid by the virus we are more vulnerable to being surprised by the adversaries as they seek to take advantage of the situation," Brennan said.
Brennan also drew comparisons between Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and former President Barack Obama's handling of the H1N1 pandemic in 2009.
"One of the things that he insisted on is to let the policy be driven by the data, by the expertise," said Brennan. "The H1N1 pandemic in 2009 was not nearly as serious as this COVID-19 virus is, but yet, there was still a very much complicated engineering challenge that we had to bring together ... Obama was insistent we carry out our duties without any regard for giving him praise or pointing to, you know, facts that really were not factual at all. There was quite a distinction in how he handled that crisis and how Donald Trump is, unfortunately, mishandling this one."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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