Photos at the White House show Trump meeting with actors in a play about the 'deep state' amid the coronavirus outbreak

• Insider has obtained exclusive photos of Trump meeting in the White House with the actors and creators of a play based on the real-life anti-Trump texts sent between FBI employees who were having an affair.
• "FBI Lovebirds" was staged at CPAC on February 27, the same day as the meeting in the Oval Office, just as the coronavirus crisis was beginning to spread across the U.S.
• There were 60 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in the U.S. on February 27. Today there are 647, according to the CDC.
• The play's writer told Insider that Trump "loved" the idea of the play and joked that he should play the role of ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok.
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While the US was in the relatively early stages of the coronavirus crisis, President Donald Trump controversially held a 45-minute meeting - originally scheduled to be just 15 minutes - with the lead actors and creators of a play about ex-FBI employees Peter Strzok and Lisa Page's anti-Trump texts.

The play, "FBI Lovebirds," was staged at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on February 27, the same day as the meeting in the Oval Office.

At the time, there were 60 confirmed cases in the U.S. of novel coronavirus. The most recent Centers for Disease Control (CDC) count is 647 nationwide.

In photos exclusively obtained by Insider, Trump can be seen posing with former "Lois and Clark" actor Dean Cain, who played Strzok, and former "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress Kristy Swanson, who played Page.

Strzok and Page were having an affair during the period of the texts, which Trump and his allies have cited as evidence of a "Deep State" conspiracy against him.

Among the most controversial of the messages was Strzok saying "No, we'll stop it" in response to Page's question asking whether Trump could actually be elected president. (Strzok later said the remark was "off the cuff" and in response to Trump's critical comments directed at Gold Star parents.)

After the texts were made public in December 2017, Strzok and Page were removed from their posts as part of then-special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Strzok was later fired by the FBI, and Page resigned in May 2018.

Trump also posed in the Oval Office with the play's writer, Phelim McAleer, and his wife and producing partner, Ann McElhinney.

Trump spoke at CPAC on February 29, but he did not attend the play's performance two days earlier, and still hasn't seen it.

McAleer told Insider that Trump "loved" the idea of the play and joked that he should play the role of Strzok. Cain replied in the Oval Office meeting that Trump could be his understudy.

The White House did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

• Read more:
• Current and former Trump officials say CPAC failed to offer useful coronavirus updates, leaving them confused and angry about their level of exposure
• Chuck Schumer blasting conservative Supreme Court justices is more proof that Democrats are trying, and failing, to copy Trump's bluster
• Biden was the Democratic establishment's savior on Super Tuesday, but he's still a dangerously flawed candidate
• CPAC 2020 was all about worshiping Trump, hating socialism, and feeling victimized by media and the left