Washington's premier political stenographer Bob Woodward's new book "Rage" won't be out until September 15, but already advance copies have been obtained, and they contain some damaging revelations regarding pathological liar and career con man Donald "COVID Donnie Trump. In particular, the book talks about what Trump knew about the COVID-19 virus, and when he knew it, depicting Trump as deceiving the public about its danger and spread. What makes the book very problematic for Trump is that Woodward recorded 18 separate interviews with him, so as the orange shitgibbon himself might say, "it is what it is" because it's his own words. Some reporting from CNN (with damning clips of the taped conversation):
"President Donald Trump admitted he knew weeks before the first confirmed US coronavirus death that the virus was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious and 'more deadly than even your strenuous flus,' and that he repeatedly played it down publicly, according to legendary journalist Bob Woodward in his new book "Rage."
'This is deadly stuff,' Trump told Woodward on February 7.
In a series of interviews with Woodward, Trump revealed that he had a surprising level of detail about the threat of the virus earlier than previously known. 'Pretty amazing,' Trump told Woodward, adding that the coronavirus was maybe five times 'more deadly"'than the flu."
Trump's admissions are in stark contrast to his frequent public comments at the time insisting that the virus was 'going to disappear' and 'all work out fine.'" (our emphasis)The audio of Trump's comments represent hard evidence that he deliberately downplayed and refused to act on the spreading virus because to do so would force him to direct quarantines and shutdowns of the economy. Trump's political strategy was to run on a strong economy (inherited from the Obama-Biden administration):
"'I wanted to always play it down,' Trump told Woodward on March 19, even as he had declared a national emergency over the virus days earlier. 'I still like playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic.'
If instead of playing down what he knew, Trump had acted decisively in early February with a strict shutdown and a consistent message to wear masks, social distance and wash hands, experts believe that thousands of American lives could have been saved." (our emphasis)There's more in the book, specifically on-the-record quotes from former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Dr. Anthony Fauci that blast Trump ("unfit," "no moral compass," etc.) that we'll cover in subsequent posts.
