Watch George Bush Accurately Predict Covid-19 Pandemic 15 Years Ago

Most of us knew President Trump would be a terrible leader due to a lack of empathy and intellectual curiosity, but never did we think he would be so bad that he’d make President George W. Bush seem like a Rhodes Scholar.

President Trump has been roundly blasted for his botched response to the virus that has now taken more than 40,000 American lives, including both gutting the CDC budget and firing the Pandemic Response team. History shows us former President Bush was quite serious about planning for an eventual pandemic.  Mr. Bush reportedly asked Congress for 7 billion dollars for cell technology research and vaccination efforts from the current strain of the influenza virus to mitigate any potential outbreak.

In 2005, President George W. Bush announced the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, and the following year, his administration rolled out an implementation plan. More to the point, Mr. Bush went so far as to articulate his strategy for a flu pandemic and preparedness response in 2005 at the National Institute of Health.  He discussed previous pandemics including the 1918 influenza virus and the SARS outbreak in China.

A pandemic is a lot like a forest fire,” Bush said at the time. “If caught early it might be extinguished with limited damage. If allowed to smolder, undetected, it can grow to an inferno that can spread quickly beyond our ability to control it.”

President Bush’s legacy has largely been tied to the disastrous war in Iraq as well as his lack of domestic readiness to thwart the 9/11 attacks. However, the man does deserve credit for recognizing the pandemic we’re experiencing, AND for predicting the current nightmarish scenario occurring due to a lack of preparation.

Watch George Bush Accurately Predict COVID-19 Pandemic 15 Years Ago: