Newly launched audio of a dialog President Donald Trump had with Washington Publish journalist Bob Woodward on April 13 reveals extra starkly th
Newly launched audio of a dialog President Donald Trump had with Washington Publish journalist Bob Woodward on April 13 reveals extra starkly than ever how Trump misled the American public concerning the risk posed by Covid-19, the illness attributable to the novel coronavirus.
Trump advised Woodward that “this factor is a killer if it will get you. When you’re the improper particular person, you don’t have an opportunity.”
“So this rips you aside,” Trump added. “It’s the plague.”
CNN broadcast the audio on Monday. Hear:
Covid-19 is estimated to have a Three p.c noticed case-fatality price within the US, making it far deadlier than the flu, which kills individuals in about 0.1 p.c of instances. (The speed was doubtless even larger again in April, whereas the US was struggling to ramp up coronavirus testing and develop efficient remedies.) And because the president alluded to, Covid-19 is very lethal for individuals with comorbidities, reminiscent of coronary heart illness or diabetes.
However whereas Trump leveled with Woodward, he stated very various things publicly. On April 10 — three days earlier than the aforementioned dialog — Trump tweeted, “The Invisible Enemy will quickly be in full retreat!”
The Invisible Enemy will quickly be in full retreat!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 10, 2020
4 days after his dialog with Woodward, Trump posted his notorious string of tweets urging individuals to “LIBERATE” Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia — states with Democratic governors who had imposed public well being measures to sluggish the unfold of Covid — regardless of the actual fact he clearly understood the deadliness of the pandemic.
Trump stated one factor privately, and one other factor publicly. Because of this, individuals who listened to him won’t have taken the mandatory precautions to keep away from publicity to a virus that has now killed greater than 194,000 Individuals and counting. Now, he continues to flout public security suggestions, holding political rallies that double as potential superspreader occasions, at which Trump has been undercounting the variety of deaths.
Trump is having a tough time explaining the Woodward tapes
For the reason that Washington Publish beginning publishing audio clips of Trump’s conversations with Woodward final week, Trump has downplayed proof he misled the general public about Covid-19 by saying he was merely making an attempt to maintain individuals “calm” and keep away from inciting a “panic.”
These speaking factors are absurd: Trump’s complete reelection marketing campaign is premised on whipping up hysteria concerning the risks he says are offered by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his get together’s agenda. However even when it had been true that Trump was simply making an attempt to venture calm, there are methods to take action that don’t contain spreading misinformation aimed toward encouraging Individuals to underestimate a lethal virus in a manner that would put them in danger.
So why did Trump mislead individuals? There are solely speculative solutions to that query, however one factor we all know for positive is that short-term considering has been central to Trump’s coronavirus response from the very starting final winter, when he reacted to the primary US instances by implausibly and incorrectly claiming that the virus would go away by itself “like a miracle.”
Trump needed to maintain the inventory market inventory market robust, as a result of he seen doing in order vital to his reelection possibilities. However on the similar time, he seemingly needed to sign to Woodward that regardless of what he was publicly saying, he was savvy to what actually was happening with coronavirus.
However in one other illustration of his short-term considering, Trump apparently by no means thought of that audio of his conversations with Woodward might be revealed earlier than the election and function a reminder of his coronavirus failures. And now that it has, the president has resorting to attacking the messenger with private insults whereas making an attempt to spin the recordings in an implausible manner.
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