File photo of US President Donald Trump (L) with Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union. (F…Read More
WASHINGTON: A prominent Conservative leader who shook hands with an individual subsequently diagnosed with coronavirus then went on to shake hands with US President Donald Trump and his family members, triggering concerns among Washington’s political elite about how close the virus has gotten to the center of power.
The episode, which brought the US President within two degrees of separation from the virus, occurred the weekend before the US stock market crashed seven per cent when it opened on a manic Monday, with all three major indices hitting circuit breakers causing trading to be suspended. At one point, the Dow Jones index had cratered over 2000 points.
Among the coronavirus triggers that caused the meltdown was Chairman of the American Conservative Union Matt Schlapp disclosing he had interacted with the infected man at the Union’s four-day conference in Washington DC February 27 to March 1 before going to engage other m