TSR Politics: Donald Trump admitted he knew weeks before the first confirmed U.S. coronavirus death that the virus was dangerous and highly contagious.
He was also caught on tape admitting to downplaying the whole thing for fear that it would create panic. People are understandably upset by these new revelations outlined in journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, “Rage.”
Trump said he knew the virus was highly contagious and “more deadly than even your strenuous flus.” “This is deadly stuff,” Trump told Woodward on February 7th, according to CNN. 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 people previously knew and said that the coronavirus was maybe five times “more deadly” than the flu.
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“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.”
What he said behind closed doors is much different than what he said in public, often insisting that the virus was “going to disappear” and “all work out fine.”
The book, using Trump’s own words, shows a president who has betrayed the public’s trust. In “Rage,” Trump says the job of a president is “to keep our country safe” even though in early February, Trump told Woodward he knew how deadly the virus was, and in March, admitted he kept that knowledge hidden from the public.
Experts believe that if Trump made moves in February for the good of the public health–such as enforcing a strict shut down and consistently reminding people to wear masks and social distance–thousands of American lives could have been saved.
Woodward’s book is set to drop on September 15th. We’ll keep you posted on this one.
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