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Donald Trump: The president of the United States was aware of the danger of Corona from the beginning. Image: keystone
Launch of explosive tapes: Trump deliberately downplayed the danger of the corona virus
New popular books about Donald Trump appear almost daily. The last one is from star author Bob Woodward. He’s more dangerous to the president than anyone else for a reason: there are audio recordings.
New turning point in the crisis of the American crown. Donald Trump already knew about the danger of the corona virus in early February. In public, however, the president repeatedly downplayed the threat and compared the virus to the flu.
This stems from the new book “Rage” by star author Bob Woodward, who spoke to the president 18 times and also has audio recordings. The Washington Post and CNN reported on this in advance. The recordings were made with the express permission of the President.
It’s in the book
The president can be heard telling Woodward on February 7 that the virus is “a deadly thing.” It is five times more deadly than the flu. “You just breathe air and that’s how it’s transmitted. So this is a very complicated case. This is a very delicate matter. “
Here you can listen to some excerpts:
Trump was briefed on January 28, writes Woodward, who had already played a key role in the Watergate revelations. National security adviser Robert C. O’Brien warned the president during a briefing: “This will be the greatest threat to national security you will face during your presidency.” The virus will be “the worst” you will encounter during the presidency.
Trump then raised his head, Woodward writes. Just three days after the briefing, the US president imposed travel restrictions on China. At the same time, however, he downplayed the virus. On February 25, Trump described the coronavirus as “a problem that will go away.” The next day he made a forecast of the number of cases: “In a few days they will be down, close to zero.”
The list of similar statements is long. In a meeting with experts, for example, the president suggested that you could simply get a flu shot to fight the virus. If you want to see the trivializations, the news portal “NowThis” has compiled them in the following three-minute clip:
On March 19, the president admitted to Woodward that he was not telling the whole truth to the public. “I always wanted to downplay it. I still like to downplay it because I don’t want to panic, ”the president said.
The reactions
Trump spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said in a first reaction: “The president has never lied to the American public about Covid.” But she made sure the population stayed calm.
Joe Biden, on the other hand, was tough on Trump. The presidential candidate said while visiting a car factory: “He knew how deadly it was and he purposely downplayed it. Worse, he lied to the American people. ”Tens of thousands of lives could have been saved if Trump had acted faster, Biden said.
Donald Trump will take a position at a press conference shortly. (cma)
The update continues
