Trump reveals he had a surprising level of detail about the threat of the virus earlier than previously known.
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."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.
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. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the administration's top infectious disease expert, is quoted telling others Trump's leadership was"rudderless" and that his"attention span is like a minus number."Fauci responded to the quotes in a Fox News interview on Wednesday, saying he would question the account.
In a January 28 top secret intelligence briefing, national security adviser Robert O'Brien gave Trump a"jarring" warning about the virus, telling the President it would be the"biggest national security threat" of his presidency. Trump's head"popped up," Woodward writes. During a pre-Super Bowl interview on Fox News February 2, Trump said,"We pretty much shut it down coming in from China." Two days later during his State of the Union address, Trump made only a passing reference to the virus, promising,"my administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat."
"It goes through the air," Trump said."That's always tougher than the touch. You don't have to touch things. Right? But the air, you just breathe the air and that's how it's passed. And so that's a very tricky one. That's a very delicate one. It's also more deadly than even your strenuous flus." Even into April, when the US became the country with the most confirmed cases in the world, Trump's public statements contradicted his acknowledgements to Woodward. At an April 3 coronavirus task force briefing, Trump was still downplaying the virus and stating that it would go away."I said it's going away and it is going away," he said. Yet two days later on April 5, Trump again told Woodward,"It's a horrible thing.
-- Woodward writes that Coats and his top staff members"examined the intelligence as carefully as possible," and that Coats still questions the relationship between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin."Coats saw how extraordinary it was for the president's top intelligence official to harbor such deep suspicions about the president's relationship with Putin. But he could not shake them.
-- Woodward obtained the 27"love letters" Trump exchanged with Kim Jong Un, 25 of which have not been reported publicly. The letters, filled with flowery language, provide a fascinating window into their relationship. Kim flatters Trump by repeatedly calling him"Your Excellency," and writes in one letter that meeting again would be"reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy film.
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