U.S. President Donald Trump talks about the Trump Account, an investment savings account for children, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 7, 2026.
Alex Roblewski AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States does not believe the death of a Russian laboratory worker from suspected plague was the result of a biological weapon.
Trump also said he planned to call Russian President Vladimir Putin, who celebrated his 74th birthday on Wednesday, later in the day. President Trump previously said the call would focus on plague-related cases.
President Trump’s comments were made at an Oval Office event promoting the Trump Account, a new tax-deferred savings and investment account in which more than 60 million American children under the age of 18 are automatically enrolled.
Earlier this week, Russian media reported that around 200 people in the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia were placed under medical observation on suspicion of being infected with the plague, after a female employee at the Institute for Plague Control in Irkutsk became ill and died.
At an Oval Office event on Wednesday, a reporter asked President Trump, “Is the Russian plague a biological weapon?”
Trump replied, “Well, we don’t think so.”
“We’ll see soon,” Trump said. “But I don’t think so.” “And if you listen to them, it’s under control. You know, people have said that before about other things.”
When asked if he was “getting the same vibe from Russia” that he got from China when the coronavirus outbreak began, President Trump admitted, “China hasn’t said much, and Russia hasn’t said much.”
“But they say they have it pretty much under control,” Trump said.
Asked about his contact with Putin, Trump said, “I’m setting up a phone call. Today is President Putin’s birthday.”
