Tag: Bob Woodward tapes

Trump’s economic adviser says president ‘led wisely’ when he downplayed the deadly potential of COVID-19

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President Donald Trump has been widely criticized this week because of the bombshell revelations in veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, “Rage,” which shows that back in February, Trump was privately acknowledging that COVID-19 had “deadly” potential and could become the worst health crisis in over 100 years —even though publicly, Trump was claiming that it didn’t pose a major threat to the United States. Trump has defended his coronavirus lies by claiming that he didn’t want to create a “panic,” and his economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, is defending the president’s COVID-19 response.

Kudlow told CBS News, “I think we did the right thing, and I think we did it pretty well. We did the best we could, and I think it’s really quite effective. I think the president led wisely, I think the vice president led wisely.”

Trump’s critics have been stressing that tens of thousands of lives in the U.S. could have been saved if the president had publicly acknowledge the danger that COVID-19 posed earlier and had promoted social distancing measures back in January and February. But Kudlow is echoing Trump’s talking point that he didn’t want to cause a “panic.” Continue reading.

‘I’m not going to let you do this’: CNN anchor shuts down Republican’s attempt to dodge Trump’s lies

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If you haven’t heard, this Donald Trump guy doesn’t seem to be a particularly good guy. He doesn’t seem to be a particularly competent guy. Frankly, he seems like he’s bad for our country. Hold on while I set fire to my possessions for fear I catch and spread the very real United States coronavirus pandemic. As former journalist turned celebrity political author Bob Woodward releases excerpts and audio recordings of President Trump to promote Woodward’s new book, the public is once again being treated to information we already knew, just coming out of the pedestrian mouth of the Donald himself.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana has made a name for himself as a slow-talking craven insect of a politician. Whether he is defending the Confederacy, or promote pro-Putin conspiracy theories on the Sunday shows, or blaming China and Mardi Gras drinking for the spread of the coronavirus in Louisiana, Sen. Kennedy has shown himself to not only be a foolish mind, but also a truly shameless one.

Kennedy came on CNN to talk with anchor Pamela Brown about the day’s news. Brown’s opening question to Kennedy was whether or not Trump’s admission that he “downplayed” the threat of the virus—literally calling it the “new Democratic hoax”—was “acceptable to you?” Kennedy gave a nice via satellite pause before beginning on-brand dumb: “You’re talking about the Woodward book?” Oh, man. Wow. It is literally the reason he is on the show, to be asked his thoughts on a Republican leader who has been recorded admitting to misleading the public about the then-impending public health crisis. A crisis that has claimed hundreds of thousands of American lives, and will potentially take hundreds of thousands more American lives. Continue reading.

Senate Republicans scramble to contain fallout from Woodward bombshell

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Senate Republicans hoping to go on offense this week found themselves instead playing defense once again because of controversial remarks by President Trump — this time to Watergate reporter Bob Woodward.

It was a familiar dilemma for GOP senators used to being chased by reporters over their thoughts on Trump’s latest furor, but in this case it came with terrible timing — eight weeks before an election in which the Senate is on the line and as they hoped to call attention to Democrats blocking a coronavirus relief bill Thursday on a procedural motion.

Privately, Senate Republicans expressed bewilderment over why Trump agreed to 18 interviews with Woodward, some of then happening as late as 10 o’clock in the evening. Continue reading.

Trump seeks to shift scrutiny amid Woodward fallout

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President Trump is going on the offensive after revelations from Watergate journalist Bob Woodward that he deliberately misled the public on the severity of COVID-19.

Both the White House and Trump’s campaign are attempting to change the narrative after excerpts and audio recordings of Trump’s interviews with Woodward showed him admitting to publicly downplaying the threat from the virus despite knowing the danger it posed.

For a second consecutive day, Trump on Thursday called a previously unscheduled news conference, where his comments to Woodward took center stage as reporters pressed the president about whether he misled the American public during crucial stages of the pandemic. Continue reading.

2 big problems with Kayleigh McEnany’s Bob Woodward response

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White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany faced a characteristically unenviable job in defending President Trump on Wednesday — this time with regard to his newly published comments to legendary Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward about the coronavirus pandemic.

Woodward’s book reveals that Trump internalized the true nature of the threat early on, even as he continued to downplay it publicly. His comments to Woodward indicate he knew the virus was deadlier than the flu in early February, but he continued to compare it to the flu for weeks afterward. He even conceded in mid-March that he “always” sought to downplay the threat.

But two of McEnany’s arguments, in particular, strained credulity. Continue reading.