During a phone conversation that reportedly took place on Mar. 19, Trump told Woodward, “I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic,” a decision that succeeded Trump’s earlier efforts to shut down travel from China and other heavily affected areas.
These admissions by Trump are contained in Woodward's new book Rage, and were obtained by CNN and The Washington Post as leaks prior to its official unveiling on Sept. 15.
Other admissions made by Trump to Woodward include statements about how the coronavirus is supposedly “more deadly than even your strenuous flus,” adding that “it goes through the air.”
This and more, claim critics, proves that Trump has been misleading the American public about the severity of the coronavirus, which has led to widespread lockdowns, mask mandates and other draconian remediation efforts.
On Mar. 30 when Trump was questioned by the mainstream media about allegedly downplaying the threat of the virus, Trump said:
“The statements I made are: I want to keep the country calm. I don’t want to panic the country. I could cause panic much better than even you. I would make you look like a minor league player.”
One day later, Trump began to refer to the coronavirus as a “deadly virus,” suggesting that it was creating “a great national trial, unlike any we have ever faced before.”
“You all see it,” Trump added. “You see it probably better than most. We’re at war with a deadly virus.”
By the way, the latest news about the coronavirus can be found at Pandemic.news.
Now Trump is pushing mass vaccination – what is going on?
Fast-forward to the month of September and Trump is now pushing his Operation Warp Speed mass vaccination program, which could unleash coronavirus vaccines as soon as Nov. 1, reports indicate.
Trump himself has stated that he hopes to see a coronavirus vaccine ready before the Nov. 3 election, a tall order considering it typically takes many years for a new vaccine to be developed, undergo safety testing, and be granted regulatory approval for commercial release.
Woodward further contends that Trump admitted back on Jan. 28 that the coronavirus would be the “biggest national security threat” of his presidency, though he did not clearly indicate whether he was talking about the virus itself or the global government response to it.
Three days later on Jan. 31, Trump declared a National Health Emergency, enacting a travel ban on China in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. Several months later, he declared the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) to be a pandemic, where it has remained ever since.
Between Jan. 21 and Feb. 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detected 14 coronavirus infections, all of which were the result of travel from China. On Feb. 26, the first non-travel-related case of the coronavirus was reported in the U.S.
“This really isn’t news,” wrote one Breitbart News commenter, offering a different take than Woodward’s concerning Trump’s intent in downplaying the virus.
“If you remember back in March, Trump commented that he wanted to maintain calm. That is what leaders do.”
Responding to this, another commenter noted that Woodward “made a name for himself” by bringing down former President Richard Nixon. Interestingly, Woodward has only targeted Republican presidents with his books, choosing to “berate” and allegedly “expose” them, all the while ignoring the scandals of the Clinton and Obama administrations.
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