Politico | ‘This is deadly stuff’: tapes show Donald Trump acknowledging coronavirus threat in February
- US president discussed disease with China’s Xi Jinping and was aware of danger, journalist Bob Woodward reveals in new book
- Trump said in recorded interviews that he was eager to play down Covid-19 outbreak to avoid alarming Americans
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Quint Forgey on politico.com on September 9, 2020.
US President Donald Trump acknowledged the “deadly” nature of the coronavirus earlier this year in a series of recorded interviews with The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, even as the White House sought to dismiss the disease’s threat to Americans amid its initial outbreak across the United States.
Recounting a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump told Woodward on February 7 that the coronavirus is “more deadly than your, you know, your – even your strenuous flus”.
“This is more deadly,” he added. “This is five per – you know, this is 5 per cent versus 1 per cent and less than 1 per cent, you know. So, this is deadly stuff.”
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Woodward conducted 18 on-the-record interviews with the president between last December and July to gather material for the veteran journalist’s forthcoming book on the Trump White House.