ANDREW KERRI
NVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
President Donald Trump said during a press conference Thursday that he has seen information indicating with a high degree of confidence that the novel coronavirus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“Have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of the virus?” Fox News reporter John Roberts asked Trump.
“Yes, I have,” Trump responded. “And I think the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they’re like the public relations agency for China.”
Reporter: “Have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus?”
President Trump: “Yes, I have. And I think the WHO should be ashamed of themselves.”pic.twitter.com/4hU6k1YAeE
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 30, 2020
Trump said he couldn’t share what exactly gives him a high degree of confidence that the virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“I can’t tell you that,” he said. “I’m not allowed to tell you that.”
However, later in the same press conference Trump acknowledged that there are “a lot of theories” on the origins of the coronavirus, which has infected 3.2 million people worldwide and killed 233,000.
“We have people looking at it very, very strongly,” Trump said. “I think we’re going to have a very good answer, eventually. And China might even tell us. China may tell us.”
Trump’s comments came hours after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed in a statement Thursday that it is rigorously examining new information and intelligence to “determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.” (RELATED: US Intelligence Community Confirms It’s Examining Whether Coronavirus Accidentally Leaked From Wuhan Lab)
The ODNI also said it agrees with the widespread scientific consensus that the novel coronavirus “was not manmade or genetically modified,” a blow to the conspiracy theory that the virus could be a Chinese-manufactured bioweapon.
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