Trump’s China Travel Ban Is a ‘Profile in Courage,’ Robert O’Brien Says

National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien praised President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, in particular his decision to institute a ban on travelers from China in January.

“It was a profile in courage, and it was something that he was criticized for by his political opponents, and by many in the media,” O’Brien proudly told Chuck Todd on Meet the Press. “That saved countless lives. I think that’s the thing that we have to focus on with China.”

In that same answer, O’Brien denied that Trump’s “soft relationship” with China’s president Xi Xinping, as Todd put it, in any way allowed China the latitude to enact a security law in Hong Kong that critics have called “draconian.”

Watch the video above, via NBC.

William Vaillancourt

William Vaillancourt is a writer and editor from New Hampshire whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Progressive, Slate and Areo Magazine, among other places. He holds a BA in Political Science and History from Boston University.