Tag: Bob Woodward

Trump’s lies cost tens of thousands of American lives–and Bob Woodward has the proof on tape

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It is not news that Donald Trump downplayed the severity of Covid-19 for an extended period of time, calling it a “hoax” and blaming Democrats and the media for exaggerating the seriousness of the pandemic to hurt him politically. But we live in a hyperpolarized country with a balkanized media environment, and that makes it incredibly significant that veteran journalist Bob Woodward captured Trump saying as much himself, explicitly, on tape.

In an interview Woodward recorded for his new book, Rage, on February 7, Trump said that the Coronavirus was “tricky,” that it spread via airborne transmission and was five times more lethal than seasonal influenza. “This is deadly stuff,” he added. That was three weeks before the United States would suffer the first of its almost 200,000 confirmed fatalities due to Covid-19.

Less than three weeks later, on February 26, Trump publicly compared Covid with the flu during a White House press conference. Continue reading.

Trump disclosed secret weapons system to Woodward: book

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President Trump bragged about a supposedly secret nuclear weapons system in an interview with Bob Woodward, according to excerpts from the veteran journalist’s new book.

Trump discussed the weapons system while reflecting on how close the United States and North Korea came to nuclear war in 2017, according to excerpts from “Rage” published Wednesday by The Washington Post, where Woodward is an associate editor.

“I have built a nuclear — a weapons system that nobody’s ever had in this country before. We have stuff that you haven’t even seen or heard about,” Trump told Woodward, according to the Post. Continue reading.

Another big Woodward reveal: Trump’s bottomless bad faith and nonstop lying

President Trump’s Labor Day tweet about Attorney General Jeff Sessions is even more atrocious than usual, columnist David Ignatius says. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

Today Bob Woodward’s book gets released, and much coverage of it is framed around revelations of President Trump’s raging, volatile temperament, his erratic mind-changing, and his startling lack of knowledge or curiosity about complex domestic and global policy problems.

In this framing, the alleged “adults in the room” wage a daily struggle against all these terrible traits. A portrait emerges of a man who is mentally and intellectually unfit to serve as president — the top-line revelation that has been widely discussed for days now.

But there are other key revelations in “Fear” that illuminate a different set of traits — Trump’s nonstop lying, his utter contempt for legal and governing process, and his bottomless bad faith in developing rationales for extremely consequential decisions. These sorts of traits — unlike Trump’s temperament and incuriosity — are not usually looked at as evidence of his unfitness for this office. But they should be.

View the complete commentary by Greg Sargent was posted on the Washington Post website September 11, 2018 here.

Trump’s assault on Woodward riddled with contradictions

The president has slammed Woodward’s book as ‘fiction’ — even as he rails against former aides for leaking.

President Trump constantly rails against the “fake news media,” while continuing to sit with journalists in the Oval Office and even praise some of his favorite punching bags mid-swing. Credit: Andrew Harnik, AP Photo

President Donald Trump has called journalist Bob Woodward’s book on his administration a work of “fiction” and a “scam,” claiming that quotes in the book are “made up” and that the author is a “liar.”

At the same time, sources familiar with his thinking said he is livid at his former economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and his former staff secretary, Rob Porter, for “leaking” to Woodward.

It’s difficult to rationally argue that the book could be both: fiction dreamed up by Woodward, and a betrayal by former top stewards of the administration, who shared with the famed journalist alarming details about how the White House functions.

View the complete article by Annie Karni on the Politico.com website here.

Mattis-Trump relationship put to the test by Woodward book

The following article by Ellen Mitchell was posted on the Hill website September 9, 2018:

Lawmakers and national security experts are questioning whether Defense Secretary James Mattis can maintain a strong relationship with President Trump in the wake of reports that the White House has looked for a successor to the Pentagon chief, and reporting in Bob Woodward’s book of Mattis’s frustrations with the president.

Mattis quickly put out a statement this past week describing Woodward’s book as fiction and denying insults attributed to him regarding Trump. The president, for his part, publicly thanked Mattis for the “nicest quote about me,” signaling a deep appreciation for the Defense secretary’s words.

“I did appreciate his statement,” Trump said. “He didn’t have to write that statement. But I did appreciate it.”

View the complete article here.

The two most overlooked, inexplicable stories from Bob Woodward’s Trump book

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website September 5, 2018:

President Trump reacted on Sept. 5 to Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear,” saying the journalist “likes to get publicity.” (TWP)

President Trump’s denials of the stories in Bob Woodward’s new book on Wednesday turned to tacit admission: Trump may be an unwieldy boss, he seemed to admit, but that’s part of why Americans elected him.

“I’m tough as hell on people & if I weren’t, nothing would get done,” Trump tweeted. “Also, I question everybody & everything-which is why I got elected!”

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Almost everyone agrees that my Administration has done more in less than two years than any other Administration in the history of our Country. I’m tough as hell on people & if I weren’t, nothing would get done. Also, I question everybody & everything-which is why I got elected!

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It’s an interesting spin. But Trump’s defense here doesn’t actually line up with what we know about Woodward’s book. Woodward doesn’t just paint Trump as a president who ruffles feathers, you see, but also as a man who struggles with very basic facts about very important matters — including on things about which he should definitely know better.

View the complete article here.

Trump Says He Never Spoke to Famed Watergate Reporter — But This 11-Minute Recording Proves He’s Lying

The following article by Matthew Chapman was posted on the AlterNet.org website September 4, 2018:

Trump heaped praise on Bob Woodward during their interview earlier this year. Now that his highly critical book is out, Trump won’t admit their interview even exists

Credit: BobWoodward.com

With the release of Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” President Donald Trump is not pleased. And he is raging that Woodward did not even bother to consult him.

“It’s just another bad book. He’s had a lot of credibility problems,” Trump said of the former Watergate reporter in an exclusive interview with the right-wing Daily Caller. “It’s just nasty stuff. I never spoke to him. Maybe I wasn’t given messages that he called.”

As a matter of fact, Trump did speak to Woodward, in a lengthy interview in April that was posted to YouTube.

View the complete article here.

Transcript: Phone call between President Trump and journalist Bob Woodward

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website September 4, 2018:

President Trump and Bob Woodward discuss Woodward’s new book, “Fear,” before its publication. (The Washington Post)

Bob Woodward, an associate editor at The Washington Post, sought an interview with President Trump as he was writing “Fear,” a book about Trump’s presidency. Trump called Woodward in early August, after the manuscript had been completed, to say he wanted to participate.

Over the course of 11-plus minutes, Trump repeatedly claimed his White House staff hadn’t informed him of Woodward’s interview request — despite also admitting Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had told him Woodward wanted to talk. He also started the phone call by saying Woodward had “always been fair” to him, but by the end he said the book would be “inaccurate.”

This is a transcript of that call, with key sections highlighted and annotated. To see an annotation, click on the yellow, highlighted text.

View the complete article here.

Want to Know More About: Bob Woodward

Jamie Gangel: “What’s Different About Woodward’s Book Is These Are Not The President’s Critics. These Are Not Democrats. These Are Not Never-Trumpers. These Are His Inner Circle.” JAMIE GANGEL: “We have seen a lot of reporting from day one about chaos and dysfunction. What’s different about Woodward’s book is these are not the President’s critics. These are not Democrats. These are not never-Trumpers. These are his inner circle.” [New Day, CNN, 9/5/18; Video]

Jamie Gangel: “Woodward Reports This Constant Fear That The President Bluntly Was A Danger To National Security. That He Didn’t Understand What Was Going On.” JAMIE GANGEL: “That is the theme throughout this book. Woodward reports this constant fear that the president bluntly was a danger to national security. That he didn’t understand what was going on, we hear, you know, chief of staff John Kelly has now denied saying he called the president ‘An idiot.’ But there are other quotes that woodward has that he has not denied, where he says that the president is unhinged. has dangerous impulses, is erratic. So This is something that you see throughout the book.” [New Day, CNN, 9/5/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: Bob Woodward”