President Donald Trump fielded questions from reporters at the White House on the bacterial plague outbreak spreading across Russia in recent days, including whether it could be a leak from a secret biological weapons research facility.
One reporter asked directly: "Is the plague in Russia a biological weapon?", a question similar to those raised after the first waves of COVID-19 infections, given the presence of a biological research lab near Wuhan.
Trump did not rule out the possibility entirely, but also did not sound convinced it was a weapon. "We don't think so. We're going to find out soon, but we don't think so," he said. "If you listen to them, it's under control. But people have said that before, and we hope it really is under control."
He continued: "They're very sophisticated. We really hope it's under control, and that's what they're saying."
But in the same breath, responding to a reporter who noted the similarity to the early days of COVID, Trump said: "We've heard this before, many times." On the parallels between the cases, he explained: "China didn't say much then, and Russia isn't saying much now. But they're saying it's under control."
