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Weeks before the first confirmed death from coronavirus in the United States, Donald Trump already knew that the virus was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious and perhaps five times more “deadly” than the flu. It was the US president himself who admitted it in an interview with journalist Bob Woodward, in February, to state in another that he chose to publicly minimize the pandemic because he did not want to generate “panic.”
Trump’s remarks – which Woodward interviewed 18 times in the context of his new book “Rage” – contrast with the way the president publicly approached the problem, always insisting that the virus would “go away” and that “everything would be fine.” . .
“I always wanted to downplay it,” Trump told Woodward on March 19, despite declaring a national emergency due to the virus days earlier. “I still prefer to minimize it, because I don’t want to create panic,” he added.
CNN, which had access to audio recordings of the conversations, transcribed some of the content. The interviews (conducted between December 5, 2019 and July 21, 2020) were recorded by Woodward with Trump’s permission.
“Circulate in the air, Bob. This is always worse than touching. (…) You just breathe the air and that’s how the virus passes. This is very complicated. Too delicate. It’s deadly ”, are the words of Donald Trump.
The book, due for release Sept. 15, portrays a president who has betrayed the country’s trust and the most fundamental responsibilities inherent in his office, writes CNN. In “Rage,” Trump’s former national security advisers are also quoted, saying that the US leader “has no moral compass.”
Former Defense Secretary James Mattis, former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are among those heard by Woodward. Mattis did not hesitate to consider Trump “dangerous” and “inappropriate” for the position.
Anthony Fauci, an epidemiologist and top White House consultant on the pandemic, is quoted as commenting with collaborators on the president’s “aimless” leadership: “His only goal is to be re-elected,” he said, as Woodward writes.
Shortly after CNN released the content of the interviews, White House press officer Kayleigh McEnany even said that Trump “never lied” to the public about the pandemic.
“The president never lied about covid,” McEnany said. The president expressed calm and that is what his actions reflect ”. Later, at a press conference, the adviser insisted: “The president never underestimated the virus.”
