Back in February, when the idea of being stuck indoors for six months was unfathomable, President Trump was publicly saying America was in “good shape” to defend itself from COVID-19. But privately, he was calling the coronavirus “deadly stuff.”
191,000-plus deaths later…
In a series of recorded interviews with journalist Bob Woodward, Trump admitted that he knew weeks before the first recorded American death from COVID-19 that the virus is “more deadly” than the flu. “Just today and yesterday, some startling facts came out. It’s not just old, older. Young people too, plenty of young people… I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic,” he confessed on March 19, days after declaring a national emergency. But it was already too late.
Trump’s taped conversations quotes made the late-night rounds on Wednesday, with The Daily Show‘s Trevor Noah asking, “You didn’t want to create a panic? You didn’t want to create a panic? So what did you want, for people to be very calmly dying in the streets?!” and The Late Late Show‘s James Corden joking, “Thank God none of us panicked. You know, I might have freaked out and stayed inside for six months.” But the funniest quote came from lapdog Tucker Carlson, who came to the president’s defense:
“What is surprising is that Donald Trump participated in making the book. The president sat for repeated interviews with Bob Woodward. Why in the world would he do that? It was Lindsey Graham who helped convince Donald Trump to talk to Bob Woodward. Lindsey Graham brokered that meeting. Lindsey Graham even sat in on the first interview between Bob Woodward and the president. How’d that turn out?”
Carlson continued, “Lindsey Graham is supposed to be a Republican, so why would he do something like that? You would have to ask him.” Nah, I’m good. I’d rather stay focused on the president downplaying the threat of a deadly virus that’s killed nearly 200,000 Americans because he didn’t want to create a Panic! At the Trump Rally.
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1303878203556220928
Here’s the clip, if you can muster the energy.
Tucker Carlson’s spin on the Woodward book? It’s Lindsey Graham’s fault. You can’t make this shit up. I cannot stop laughing. pic.twitter.com/VapBoD58F1
— RC Di Mezzo (@RCDiMezzo) September 10, 2020
(Via Newsweek)