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In a new book from well-respected journalist Bob Woodward, Trump is alleged to have downplayed the COVID crisis. This news has functioned as a “leak” of sorts, though it had nothing to do with cloud-based storage services.
In the book, titled “Rage,” Woodward contends that Trump knew weeks before the first US death that COVID-19 was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious, and deadlier than the flu. In the book, Woodward writes that Trump told him “This is deadly stuff.”
The book is comprised of interviews given to Woodward by Trump. The president is recorded to have called the virus at least five times deadlier than the flu. The interviews, which took place in February, give a unique insight into how the Trump Administration was preparing for the pandemic ahead of its arrival in the US.
Interestingly, Trump’s assertion to the virus’ deadliness in these interviews is a departure from his public stance that the virus will “just go away” eventually.
Woodward’s book is fascinating, as the journalist uses the president’s own words to paint a picture of the pandemic response. In the interviews with Woodward, Trump seems shrewd, well-aware of international issues, and apprehensive about the virus.
Woodward’s book frames Trump as a president who, through incompetence or negligence, allowed a pandemic to get out of hand.
On March 19, Woodward writes, Trump told him “I wanted to always play it down,” only days after declaring the pandemic a national emergency. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
This has been seen in Trump’s conduct past March. Since the pandemic started, he has publicly downplayed the severity and death toll. In June, he even held a large campaign rally in Tulsa. That rally was attended by conservative Herman Cain, who passed away weeks later from COVID-19.
Medical experts believe that if Trump had moved quickly in February to implement lockdowns, a mask mandate, and hand-washing guidelines, thousands of lives may have been saved. A quicker response to the virus, and a more aggressive testing and tracing program, could have allowed the US to more easily clear the virus from its borders. Instead, nearly six months into the pandemic, it rages on.
Many medical experts have blamed Trump, in part, for this situation. Without strong central leadership directing a response to the virus, it simply spread unchecked through the US population.
