
Entry 049Mar 19, 2020
“I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic.”49
49Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, Recorded phone interview with Bob Woodward, March 19, 2020. Source
Why it’s on the record. The tapes were released in September 2020, when about 190,000 Americans had died. The White House press secretary's defense was that he was 'expressing calm.'
On the record
Trump had told Woodward on Feb 7 that the virus was 'deadly stuff' and airborne. In public on Feb 27 he said 'It's going to disappear. One day—it's like a miracle—it will disappear.'
- Said by
- Donald J. Trump, President of the United States
- Where
- Recorded phone interview with Bob Woodward (for the book 'Rage')
- When
- Mar 19, 2020
- Source
- Recorded phone interview with Bob Woodward (for the book 'Rage'), March 19, 2020