During a press briefing on Thursday, Donald Trump faced intense questioning after journalist Bob Woodward’s new book revealed that the president had full knowledge of COVID-19’s deadliness, but chose to downplay its dangers in the early months of the pandemic. After being asked by Jonathan Karl, “Why did you lie to the American people? And why should we trust what you have to say now?” Trump’s response didn’t change tactics.
“That’s a terrible question and the phraseology,” Trump said. “I didn’t lie. What I said is we have to be calm. We can’t be panicked.”
While it is true that the president told Woodward that he “likes” to downplay the pandemic to avoid a panic, it’s hard to reconcile that reasoning with the fact that, several times, Trump privately expressed the full severity of the coronavirus, including that children are not immune, yet continued to give public statements that contradicted that information. The president’s cavalier stance created a diminished sense of urgency (as his supporters began to push back against health initiatives like wearing masks or not reopening schools) that could’ve slowed the virus’ spread if more widely adopted.
However, Trump’s answer to Karl only worsened as he continued. At one point, the president even joined the growing criticism against Woodward for not releasing the Trump’s recording sooner. Via Mediaite:
“But I thought it would be interesting to talk to him for a period of calls. So we did that. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I don’t know if the book is good or bad. Certainly if he thought that was a bad statement, he would have reported it because he thinks that, you know, you don’t want to have anybody that is going to suffer medically because of some fact. He didn’t report it because he didn’t think it was bad. Nobody thought it was bad. Wait a minute. And your question, the way you phrased that is such a disgrace. It’s a disgrace to ABC television network, it’s a disgrace to your employer. And that’s your answer.”
Karl was quick to respond that Trump told the American people that COVID-19 is just like the flu — even though the president is on tape specifically telling Woodward that it is deadlier than the flu. In other words, he lied.
You can watch Trump’s full response below:
“That’s a terrible question…I didn’t lie. What I said is we have to be calm, we can’t be panicked,” Pres. Trump tells @jonkarl when pressed about reports he deliberately minimized the seriousness of COVID-19 to the public. https://t.co/SJUK7i8fyL pic.twitter.com/ZQkdVtUeSL
— ABC News (@ABC) September 10, 2020
(Via ABC News on Twitter & The Independent)