Trump takes position on Covid tapes: “I didn’t lie”

Trump comments on the tapes: “Terrible question. I did not lie “

Donald Trump denies having lied to the American people. The day after audio recordings of conversations with Bob Woodward were released, the president dismissed all allegations.

At the beginning of the press conference at the White House, which initially resembled an election campaign event, the 74-year-old spoke about last week’s successes. The economy has recovered much faster than everyone thought. “We probably have the best rest in the world.”

The president also said that the corona virus was getting better and better under control. The number of infections and deaths was reduced.

Over and over again he dealt against Joe Biden, who had come out of his bunker due to “shaky polls.” “If Biden had been responsible, many more people would have died.”

Trump defends himself and attacks journalists

After almost half an hour of praising his own administration, it was the turn of the journalists. Jon Karl wanted to know from ABC why he had lied. In the tapes released by author Bob Woodward, Trump spoke of deliberately minimizing the risk of the virus.

“That is a terrible question,” Trump told the ABC reporter. “I didn’t lie. We had to stay calm. I didn’t want to panic.” It’s really a shame he even asked that.

Trump once again blamed China for the pandemic. “It’s all just China’s mistake.” There could have been between 2.5 million and 3 million deaths if we had not responded and stopped travel to and from China, Trump said.

The opposition around Nancy Pelosi criticized him for closing the borders in early February. Trump said he showed leadership qualities in this situation. “I don’t want to jump and scream: death, death, death.” You must remain calm. “We did the best job.”

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post wanted to know why he had not behaved like Angela Merkel, who remained calm but honestly informed the public. Trump said: “I don’t know what Angela Merkel did. But when I compare the figures with those of Europe, we do much better. ”The figures in Europe would rise again.

The president ignored the fact that the death rate in Germany is roughly five times lower than in the United States. He also died in the United States in the last seven days. significantly more people in the consequences of Covid-19 than in Spain, France, Germany or Italy.

Trump wants to hold Woodward accountable

Trump tried to change course during the press conference and hold Bob Woodward accountable. “If Bob Woodward thought what I said was wrong, it should have been made public immediately. He had the tapes for four months. ”Apparently, the author didn’t find it too bad either.

Philip Rucker responded curtly to Trump: “Bob Woodward is not the president.”

Trump had previously tested this narrative on Twitter. The president asked whether Woodward had not had a duty to report the life-saving testimony, only to give the answer himself: “No, because he knew the answers were good and correct.”

The president only allowed a few questions and ended the press conference faster than usual. Maybe to sit in front of the television. Because he did it in great detail in the previous hours, as he admitted at the press conference.