President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States is “willing to help” Russia contain the potential outbreak of a pneumonic plague in the country.
Nearly 200 Russian citizens were placed under medical observation in eastern Siberia over the weekend following the illness and death of an anti-plague researcher at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute.
Trump maintains a friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he told reporters before departing the White House Monday afternoon that he had not spoken to his counterpart about the potential outbreak.
“I hate to see them having it. It’s a rough — it’s a rough disease,” he said before boarding Marine One outside the White House. “That’s a disease we used to be able to control, but somehow those microbes got stronger and smarter than like an army.”
“Even with great advancement, the germs have really become relatively stronger than they were, and things that used to work like a mold here don’t work as well anymore,” Trump continued. “So we’ll help anybody that has that kind of a problem. We’ll always be willing to help.”
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Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the Russian plague is a “cause for focus” but not “alarm.”
“There’s very limited travel between the U.S. and Russia, obviously — but like anything else, something like that gets out, it could quickly spread,” Rubio acknowledged. “We’re watching and monitoring it closely.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
