Donald Trump spoke “utter crap” about coronavirus which caused “anarchy” in the USA, Scottish public health expert Devi Sridhar has said.
Professor Sridhar also praised Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership during the pandemic and said the lack of trust people in the US had in their authorities was a growing problem.
The professor of global public health at Edinburgh University, who sits on the Scottish Government’s coronavirus advisory board, has courted controversy during the pandemic and backed Sturgeon consistently throughout.
Sridhar blamed former President Trump’s leadership for mixed public health messages in America which have created fear and confusion.
At one stage during his presidency Trump, who was struck down by covid-19 himself, suggested that disinfectant and ultraviolet light may be an antidote to the virus.
He said the virus would disappear "like a miracle", suggested ill people should be quarantined in Cuba and claimed he was more macho than rival Joe Biden because he didn't wear a mask "all the time".
Sridhar said: “People don’t know what to believe any more because he said such utter crap. I think here in this country you’d say utter rubbish?"
“So people don’t know what to believe so it creates anarchy.”
She continued: “All I can say is that I think I do feel fortunate to live in Scotland through this moment compared to being back in Florida."
“Florida is a mess. And I think it shows the importance of governance and leadership.
“Florida from a distance might look great because there’s no restrictions and everything is open and there’s no mask mandates.
“But the result is many people hiding in their homes.”
Sridhar was speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival ahead of the release of her book titled: “Preventable: The Politics of Pandemics and How to Stop the Next One.”.
During the discussion she said the UK had made mistakes early in the pandemic by “not running fast enough” in tracing Covid cases.
She said Boris Johnson’s announcement on March 12 2020 led to her speaking out about the UK’s Covid strategy on social media.
Prof Sridhar was asked about previous remarks she had made, in which she said Scotland would have done better against Covid as an independent country.
She said: “I think what I can say having been in Scotland and seen it closely, is that I truly believe … the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, whatever your opinion on politics, independence, has tried to do a good job through this crisis.
“She has tried to brief the public, she has tried to message clearly, she has tried to listen to the scientists.”
Prof Sridar said she had never been pressured to say anything by the Scottish Government.
She added: “One of the things New Zealand, for example, has done well is there’s one source of information and people trust it.
“And I think in Scotland, across Britain in fact, because of the trust in scientists (the) uptake (of vaccines) is really high.”
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