Woodward book: Did Trump mislead or reassure on coronavirus?
President Donald Trump made comments in February about the severity of coronavirus that didn't match up with his more optimistic public remarks, according to a new book by Bob Woodward. The book is based on 18 interviews with the president.
President Donald Trump speaks at the White House during an event on judicial appointments, Sept. 9, 2020, in Washington. Responding to claims that he misrepresented the dangers of coronavirus in March, Mr. Trump said Wednesday he was being a "cheerleader" to the nation.
Evan Vucci/AP
Washington
President Donald Trump talked in private about the 鈥渄eadly鈥� coronavirus last February, even as he was declaring to America it was no worse than the flu and insisting it was under control, according to a new book by journalist Bob Woodward. Mr. Trump said Wednesday he was just being a 鈥渃heerleader鈥� for the nation and trying to keep everyone calm.
His public rhetoric, Mr. Trump told Mr. Woodward in March, was part of a strategy to deliberately minimize the danger. 鈥淚 wanted to always play it down,鈥� the president said. 鈥淚 still like playing it down because I don鈥檛 want to create a panic.鈥�
Mr. Trump, according to the book, acknowledged being alarmed by the virus, even as he was telling the nation that it would swiftly disappear.
Coming less than eight weeks before Election Day, the revelations in the book 鈥� accompanied by recordings Mr. Woodward made of his interviews with Mr. Trump 鈥� provide an unwelcome return of public attention to the president鈥檚 handling of the pandemic that has so far killed about 190,000 Americans. He is currently pushing hard for a resumption of normal activity and trying to project strength and control to bolster his political position in his campaign against Democrat Joe Biden.
In a Feb. 7 call with Mr. Woodward, Mr. Trump said of the virus: 鈥淵ou just breathe the air and that鈥檚 how it鈥檚 passed. And so that鈥檚 a very tricky one. That鈥檚 a very delicate one. It鈥檚 also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.鈥�
鈥淭his is deadly stuff,鈥� the president repeated for emphasis.
Just three days later, Mr. Trump struck a far rosier tone in an interview with Fox Business: 鈥淚 think the virus is going to be 鈥� it鈥檚 going to be fine.鈥�
Mr. Biden said Wednesday the book shows Mr. Trump 鈥渓ied to the American people. He knowingly and willingly lied about the threat it posed to the country for months.鈥�
鈥淲hile a deadly disease ripped through our nation, he failed to do his job 鈥� on purpose. It was a life or death betrayal of the American people,鈥� Mr. Biden said at a campaign event in Michigan.
Mr. Biden鈥檚 campaign pounced, releasing an ad late Wednesday featuring the audiotapes of Mr. Trump鈥檚 remarks. 鈥淎nd Trump knew all along,鈥� the ad鈥檚 narrator says.
Speaking Wednesday at the White House, Mr. Trump acknowledged he downplayed the virus, insisting he was trying to buck up the nation and suggesting he was trying to avoid 鈥済ouging鈥� on prices of needed supplies.
鈥淭he fact is I鈥檓 a cheerleader for this country. I love our country and I don鈥檛 want people to be frightened. I don鈥檛 want to create panic, as you say,鈥� Mr. Trump told reporters. 鈥淐ertainly, I鈥檓 not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy. We want to show confidence. We want to show strength.鈥�
Yet Mr. Trump鈥檚 public comments suggested he was steering people to ignore the reality of the coming storm. Mr. Woodward鈥檚 account details dire warnings from top Trump national security officials to the president in late January that the virus that causes COVID-19 could be as bad as the devastating influenza pandemic of 1918.
On Feb. 25, just weeks before much of the country was forced to shut down because of the pandemic, Mr. Trump declared the virus 鈥渧ery well under control in our country.鈥�
Though he restricted travel from China in January, Mr. Trump did not begin to devote extensive federal resources to procuring vital personal protective equipment, including face masks, or expand the production of ventilators until March. In fact, U.S. officials recommended against widespread mask-wearing until April in part because of a shortage of protective masks required by front-line medical workers.
Mr. Trump aides and allies said at the time that he was aiming to prop up the economy with his rosy take on the virus throughout February, even as his administration took few concrete steps to prepare for the coming pandemic.
The Washington Post, where Mr. Woodward serves as associate editor, reported excerpts of the book, 鈥淩age鈥� on Wednesday, as did CNN. The book also covers race relations, diplomacy with North Korea, and a range of other issues that have arisen during the past two years.
The book is based in part on 18 interviews that Mr. Woodward conducted with Mr. Trump between December and July.
鈥淭rump never did seem willing to fully mobilize the federal government and continually seemed to push problems off on the states,鈥� Mr. Woodward writes of the pandemic. 鈥淭here was no real management theory of the case or how to organize a massive enterprise to deal with one of the most complex emergencies the United States had ever faced.鈥�
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday: 鈥淭he president has never lied to the American public on COVID. The president was expressing calm, and his actions reflect that.鈥�
She said Mr. Trump鈥檚 actions show that he took COVID-19 seriously. She noted that the president put in place travel restrictions with China on Jan. 31 and said that some Democrats had criticized the move.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government鈥檚 top infectious disease expert, said Mr. Trump never 鈥渄istorted鈥� what Dr. Fauci had told the president.
鈥淥ften he would want to, you know, make sure that the country doesn鈥檛 get down and out about things, but I don鈥檛 recall anything that was any gross distortion in things that I spoke to him about,鈥� Dr. Fauci said.
Ms. McEnany insisted 鈥渢he president never downplayed the virus,鈥� though Mr. Trump himself told Mr. Woodward he was 鈥減laying it down because I don鈥檛 want to create a panic.鈥�
鈥淭here is damning truth that President Trump lied and people died,鈥� said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Mr. Schumer said that when he thinks about how many people in his state died, 鈥淚t just makes me angry.鈥� He added, 鈥淗ow many people would be alive today if he just told Americans the truth?鈥�
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the president鈥檚 comments to Mr. Woodward showed weakness and a disdain for science.
鈥淲hat he was actually saying is, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want anybody to think anything like this happened on my watch so I鈥檓 not going to call any more attention to it,鈥欌�� Ms. Pelosi said on MSNBC.
Mr. Woodward鈥檚 book is his second on the Trump White House. The first, published in 2018, portrayed Mr. Trump in an unflattering light, and the president fumed at staff that he was not interviewed for it, according to former White House officials and Republicans close to the White House. They were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations and discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.
Mr. Trump was convinced that if he had talked to Mr. Woodward, it could have led to a more favorable depiction in the book, according to the officials. Mr. Trump had always held Mr. Woodward in high regard 鈥� he considered the journalist as the biggest star in the field 鈥� and told aides he must be interviewed if Mr. Woodward were to write again, the officials said.
Several Republican senators at the Capitol declined to comment on the new book, telling reporters they hadn鈥檛 yet read it, even when informed of key passages about the virus. 鈥淚 just can鈥檛, can鈥檛 comment on it,鈥� said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
鈥淐ould we all have done things differently? Yes, including Congress. We were all a little slow to recognize the severity,鈥� Mr. Portman said.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Jonathan Lemire in New York; Alexandra Jaffe in Warren, Michigan; and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.