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President Donald Trump has admitted that he knew how dangerous COVID-19 was weeks before the first coronavirus death in the United States. According to Bob Woodward, a famed journalist, Trump had known that the virus was extremely contagious and that it was “more deadly than even your strenuous flus.”
When Does the Book Release?
Woodward has published these remarks in his upcoming book called “Rage.” This is a sequel to his book called “Fear: Trump in the White House.” It is scheduled to be released on Sept. 15, 2020.
Woodward states that Trump repeatedly played down how devastating the virus was to the public. The journalist further states that the President told him on February 7 that COVID-19 was “deadly stuff.”
Woodward further describes his series of interviews with Trump and how the President seemed to have an astonishing amount of information about COVID-19. In one of the interviews, Trump stated that coronavirus could be five times “more deadly” than the flu.
These Statements Differ From the President’s Previous Statements to the Public
These admissions are different than what the President has stated in previous remarks. Remarks like COVID-19 was “going to disappear” and that “all work out fine.”
In the book, Woodward uses the President’s own words to describe what he truly knew and around what time he learned it.
In one conversation — held on March 19, 2020 — Trump described to Woodward his thought process of downplaying the true horror COVID-19 had in store.
“I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down… I don’t want to create a panic.”
However, many believe if Trump had acted like a leader — when he discovered how bad COVID-19 truly was — then thousands of lives could have been saved. Many experts agree with this belief.
They believe if Trump had placed strict shutdown orders — and insistence on wearing face masks, practicing social distancing, keeping up with personal hygiene, i.e. hand washing — many of the deaths that America has experienced would not have happened.
Woodward has released some audio clips of his conversations with Trump, proving that the President truly admitted to his prior knowledge.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Source:
CNN: ‘Play it down’: Trump admits to concealing the true threat of coronavirus in new Woodward book; Jamie Gangel
Featured and Inline Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
