Photo taken on March 27, 2020 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C., the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed a 2-trillion-dollar stimulus bill, the largest stimulus package in U.S. history, in an attempt to rescue the economy devastated by COVID-19. Photo:Xinhua

Chinese experts said that the infection of the US president's national security adviser, one of the closest persons to the president, could indicate a total failure of the Trump administration's anti-pandemic strategy if more officials get infected through him.  

Robert O'Brien tested positive for COVID-19. He was infected during a few days off work, and has been self-isolating, Bloomberg reported Monday.  

O'Brien's infection reveals a huge loophole in the White House's anti-pandemic measures, and he won't be the last White House senior official to be infected with COVID-19, Sun Chenghao, an assistant research professor at the Institute of American Studies of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"The president's national security advisor is like the nerve center of the White House. He coordinates various departments of the administration. Such an important official getting infected will affect the Trump administration's anti-epidemic measures and reputation," Sun noted. 

The White House should be screening its employees for potential infections. If more officials are found infected through O'Brien, it would indicate a total failure of the Trump administration's anti-pandemic strategy, Sun said.

"There is no risk of exposure to the president or the vice president," Bloomberg reported, citing the White House.

ABC News reported that O'Brien was last seen at the White House on Thursday. However, it's still unclear as to when he was last with the president. It's also not clear when O'Brien first tested positive.

The news quickly resonated across Chinese social media, topping the reading list of Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo on Tuesday morning. The topic had generated more than 460  million views as of press time. 

The novel coronavirus has invaded the White House and become the true enemy of the US, but some have pretended not to see it, Chinese netizens said.

Despite O'Brien's infection, Trump tweeted, "Make America Great Again!" on Tuesday, a slogan that he had used in his presidential campaign. But, ironically, the tweet generated strong backlash. 

Some mocked the Trump administration by saying it had fulfilled that promise by making the US the hardest-hit country by COVID-19.

Thursday marks six months since the WHO declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. Almost 16 million cases have now been reported to the WHO, WHO Director-General said on Monday. The US contributed the most COVID-19 infections, with 4.2 million people confirmed with the novel coronavirus, including 148,056 deaths, Johns Hopkins University's data showed as of press time. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Trump administration has been turning a blind eye to the COVID-19, from saying the "virus doesn't exist" to that the "virus will disappear when the weather gets warmer," then to some absurd attempts to comfort the public, such as claims that the virus could be killed by injecting disinfectant. 

While the coronavirus is killing thousands of Americans, O'Brien, a leading China hawk, gave a vicious speech last month discrediting and attacking China and the Communist Party of China.

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Chinese netizens said it is bizarre to see the Trump administration even trying to divert public attention from its own failure to combat the virus by alleging China caused the pandemic and should take responsibility for it, while its domestic epidemic continues to worsen. 

"By seeking a scapegoat, the Trump administration only aims to create a false narrative to win the election. The American people may be the lowest priority in their minds. What a bizarre administration!" Chinese netizens said.

"It is sad to see the US government continuing to blame others when it cannot control the epidemic, leaving its own people to suffer," a Weibo user said. "It's crystal clear to all that it is the novel coronavirus that is the true enemy of the US, rather than China. Why can't the Trump administration see it?" another netizen asked.