Pence And The Pandemic
We all know that President Trump was from Day One hemmed in on virtually every side by enemies. And not just Dems. The GOPe was working to thwart him at every step of the way. That also included his Vice President, Mike Pence. Trump, the outsider, relied to a great extent on input for his appointments on Pence, with his DC connections.
Can we agree that Trump mishandled the Covid Hoax? That's not a put down. I've argued in the past that Trump had few options, especially early on. Later, his hands were to a great extent tied by electoral politics. He put Pence in charge of Covid response, and Pence--predictably--let him down.
Emerald Robinson has some hot tweets today, pointing the finger at a key Pence staffer, Olivia Troye . Here's a slightly edited Wikipedia bio for Troye. Among other things it offers a pretty good idea of what Trump was up against:
Olivia Troye is an American national security official ... She went on to work in the Office of the Vice President of the United States as the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence and also served on the White House Coronavirus Task Force as Pence's lead staffer on the Task Force. She resigned from the White House in August 2020.
After graduating from college, Troye worked for the Republican National Committee. She began a career in national security after the September 11 attacks. She served in the Pentagon as a George W. Bush Administration appointee. Troye was an intelligence official in the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis serving as chief of strategy, policy, and plans. ...
While Troye says she resigned, Mike Pence's national security adviser, Keith Kellogg, claims he fired her and "escorted her off the compound." He has also more generally accused her of lying about her time in the Trump-Pence administration. Troye has denied the allegations.
After leaving the White House, Troye became an outspoken critic against the Trump Administration’s response on the COVID-19 pandemic.She later publicly supported Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. Troye endorsed Biden in a video released by Republican Voters Against Trump.
... Troye is also an advisor to Defending Democracy Together, [another Bill Kristol front group].
According to CNN, Troye is a lifelong Republican. She described herself as a "John McCain Republican" in a video released by Republican Voters Against Trump.
Her latest article is an attack on the argument that the Covid virus originated in the Wuhan lab.
Emerald Robinson addresses Troye's role on the Coronavirus Task Force and more broadly as symptomatic of the type of personnel Pence brought to the White House:
The person most responsible for unleashing the Fauci fraud on America is @OliviaTroye who was VP Pence's "COVID advisor."
In a recent article, Troye explains how her job was to misinform the Trump Admin at every turn.How the Trump Administration Twisted Coronavirus Intelligence - The BulwarkRather than use intelligence to inform the government's response to the pandemic, the Trump administration tried to bend the facts for political ends. https://thebulwark.com/how-the-trump-administration-twisted-coronavirus-intelligence/
It's interesting that Olivia Troye now describes herself as "a former career intelligence professional." Which agency did she formerly work for before joining Pence's staff? Why was she so hostile to the Wuhan lab leak theory? And so hostile to Pompeo's lab leak investigation?
Troye writes that the lab leak theory was so dangerous a threat to the IC that "ultimately CIA Director Gina Haspel intervened to defend the integrity of the intelligence community & insulate it from political pressure." How would she know that?
In Sept. 2020 @OliviaTroye was fired by Trump Admin after someone finally figured out she was another NeverTrumper on Pence's team. Almost the next day, Troye started an anti-GOP org. Then she publicly voted for Biden. While claiming to be a Republican.
Then Robinson offers this:
LOL @OliviaTroye thinks she's being attacked when I quote from HER OWN ARTICLE. VP Pence was staffed by a gang of morons but I think we've found the apex moron. https://t.co/r3DZTTdH8g
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) June 2, 2021