While he was president, Donald Trump held China responsible for the coronavirus pandemic.
For making that point publicly, Trump was accused of racism and ignorance by the establishment press, Democrats, and even many Republicans.
Now, reports say the government of the United Kingdom believes the origin of Covid was indeed a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. However, U.K. officials have not gone public with that information.
A top bio-weapons expert said the lab leak theory has become the “official view” of the U.K. government — even if that decision is still “behind closed doors,” according to the U.K. Telegraph.
The newspaper reported that Hamish de-Bretton Gordon, a former British army colonel who is now a bio-security fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Magdelene College, said, “I think attitudes have changed a little bit. The zoonotic transfer theory just didn’t make sense.”
The Centers for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines zoonotic diseases as those that can spread from animals to people.
In a video posted Wednesday by the U.K. Express, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson got tongue-tied trying to avoid saying the word “China,” but still made sure to finally introduce the possibility of a lab leak as the source of the pandemic.
“I do think there’s a problem with zoonotic diseases,” Johnson said. “This is clearly the thing we have to focus on. And it’s the practice that seems to be particularly prevalent in some parts of Asia, of Southeast Asia: farming wild animals. That is really where the risks are.”
Even as he still downplayed the lab leak theory, Johnson hedged: “Clearly, anybody sensible would keep an open mind about that.”
After two years of stonewalling, even a mention of having an open mind demonstrated a shift in the narrative.
The Express reported that on Monday, Johnson called for updated policies for better protection against not only diseases from animals, but also laboratory leaks, bio-terrorism and bio-warfare.
Evidence has accumulated about the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s potential role in releasing the virus. So far, scientists have been unable to determine whether the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 occurred naturally or was manipulated in a laboratory.
In fact, some scientists have acted like they didn’t even want to know.
In reporting on the Telegraph article, Fox News noted that Dr. Francis Collins, the now-former director of National Institutes of Health Director, had called inquiries about a lab origin of Covid “a distraction.”
But for de-Bretton Gordon, it’s much more than that.
“There is a huge amount of concern about coming out publicly, but behind closed doors, most people think it’s a lab leak,” he said, according to The Telegraph. “And they are coming round to the fact that even if they don’t agree with that, they must accept it’s likely, and they must make sure the policies are in place to stop it.”
Why would there be such concern?
One sad possibility is that refusing to admit China’s involvement helped to undermine Donald Trump. Obstructing Trump was always a priority for the politicized bureaucracy in Washington, the mainstream media and globalist interests around the world.
The establishment media would have savaged anyone who did anything to prove Trump was right.
Another troubling potential answer is that China’s powerful hold over American and global institutions led to the censorship.
As the facts about COVID continue to emerge, scientists and officials may be being forced to let go of their partisan assumptions.
Even if it’s still “behind closed doors.”