Woodward claimed that other sources backed Trump’s statement, and that they were surprised Trump discussed it.

“I have built a nuclear – a weapons system that nobody’s ever had in this country before.” The US has a new secret weapons systemĭuring one of Trump’s interviews with Woodward, he bragged about the US’s new weapons tech. Mattis also went to the Washington National Cathedral on numerous occasions to pray amid concerns over potential conflict, Woodward said. Mattis, Woodward reported, wanted to be ready in the event North Korea fired weapons at the US. “We never knew whether it was real … or whether it was a bluff,” Woodward quoted the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, as saying.Īlthough it was unclear whether this threat was real, the possibility was so concerning that the then US defense secretary, James Mattis, slept in his clothes. Trump’s national security team voiced concerns that the US might have neared nuclear war with North Korea amid heightened tensions in 2017.

“Think about that!” Fears about war with North Korea One day – it’s like a miracle – it will disappear.” Trump also compared Covid-19 to the seasonal flu in a 9 March tweet, writing: “Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on” during flu season. Trump told the public on 27 February: “It’s going to disappear. Woodward’s reporting on Trump’s comments show the dramatic divide between the president’s apparent knowledge of coronavirus’s dangers and his public statements. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.” Woodward also reported that Trump said: “This is deadly stuff.” Right? But the air, you just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed.

Trump knew coronavirus was a significant threat early onĭuring a 7 February phone call with Woodward, Trump reportedly recognized that the virus was dangerous. Here are the most explosive revelations from Woodward’s book. Woodward’s reporting – which is largely based on 18 interviews with Donald Trump – show the president implicating himself with his own words, admitting, for example, that he knowingly downplayed Covid-19.

Bob woodward book rage