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US Election 2020

 Trump is the wrong man for the job: Woodward

Published : Saturday, 19 September, 2020 at 12:00 AM  Count : 470

Lizi Rahman

Lizi Rahman

US presidential election is less than seven weeks away. Life is never dull under the rule of President Trump, not a day goes by without a rumour or an interesting story. Currently, one story is dominating the news media. It's about a book. Ever since President Trump was elected, countless books were published about him by people inside and outside his administration. Most of them are best sellers, but none of them put a dent on Trump's presidency. Not even the book written by his niece. What's so special about this book? This book is not only in print, it's supported by audio tapes of President Trump.

Bob Woodward--veteran investigative journalist, winner of two Pulitzer prizes, force behind the resignation of President Nixon and associate editor of the Washington Post--just released his latest bombshell book, "Rage". Even before "Rage" was made public, it caused a huge uproar. Woodward appeared on numerous television interviews and released the book along with audio tapes. Reviews of "Rage" outraged people when they learned Trump knowingly misled them about coronavirus. Immediately, I ordered my copy and received it right away. This is no doubt a jaw dropping book.

Woodward interviewed President Trump 18 times over a period of seven months from December 2019 to July 2020. Of these 18 calls, President Trump called Woodward seven times. Sometimes they spoke for more than an hour. In an interview, Woodward told, he carried a tape recorder with him at all times in case President Trump called him.

Before listening to Trump tapes people thought Trump was unaware of the dangers posed by coronavirus. When they heard Trump's own admission that he was well aware of how dangerous this virus was even before it hit the USA, they were stunned. If only Trump warned people at the early stages of spread, and took steps to prevent it, nearly 200,000 people wouldn't die from Coronavirus. Woodward wrote, "On January 28th of this year, before the virus was on anyone's radar, the national security advisor, Robert O'Brien, told the president, "This virus will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency."

During a February 7 phone call, President Trump told him, "It goes through air, Bob. That's always tougher than the touch. You know, the touch, you don't have to touch things. Right? But the air, you just breathe the air and that's how it's passed. And so that's a very tricky one. That's a very delicate one. It's also more deadly than your, you know, your even your strenuous flues. This is deadly stuff." February 26, during a White House press conference, President Trump downplayed it, "It's a little like the regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we'll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner. Yeah, go ahead..."

In March, Trump told Woodward that the coronavirus was, "more deadly than even your strenuous flues" but he preferred "to always play it down." Trump repeatedly assured American public that the coronavirus would soon "disappear . . . like a miracle" 

Trump spoke to Bob Woodward for hours without the presence of a press secretary or another person, knowing that the conversations would be recorded. Now, he has trouble defending his own comments. Though, he unsuccessfully tried to do so soon after the tapes become public. First, he admitted that he "downplayed" the coronavirus threat because he didn't want to create 'panic'. Two days later, he said, he never downplayed the virus, he always "up-played" it.

President Trump's actions are a clear indication of how he viewed the deadly coronavirus. He, continuously, holds campaign rallies around the country. Thousands of people attend those rallies. Hardly anyone wears a mask and certainly there is no social distancing at those rallies. As a result, there is a surge of coronavirus in the south west part of the country. Also, it's no secret how Trump feels about masks. He doesn't wear a mask. Rather he always criticizes and mocks his opponent, Joe Biden, for wearing a mask. Biden during campaign rally always wears a mask and keeps social distancing.

When several states were in lockdown, Trump vehemently opposed that. He seemed to be eager to open stores, schools and businesses. He even complained that Democrats are using coronavirus to win in the election. When Woodward reminded him of the devastation of the pandemic, Trump pointed out "the economy is good, share market is good." Economy, health care and the coronavirus pandemic took centre stage in the campaign messaging for both Trump and Biden. Trump is running his election on the basis of economy and Biden is on Covid-19 pandemic.

In his 450 pages long book, Woodward covered a wide range of topics including North Korea, racial injustice, Black Lives Matter, Trump's opinion about his top officials and vice versa. Woodward obtained 25 never-seen personal letters exchanged between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump explained his instant connection to Kim by offering Woodward a creepy analogy: "You meet a woman. In one second, you know whether or not it's going to happen."

Woodward offers a detailed portrait of the president and some of his top aides. Trump told White House trade adviser Peter Navarro that he considered his "fucking generals" to be "a bunch of pussies." Woodward reveals, former director of national intelligence Dan Coats took seriously the possibility that Trump was "in Putin's pocket" and "suspected the worst" of the president. "Trump", Coats reportedly told Mattis, "doesn't know the difference between the truth and a lie."

Woodward concluded his book with "When his performance as president is taken in its entirety, I can only reach one conclusion: Trump is the wrong man for the job." Woodward's first book was based on an investigative report on Watergate scandal, which was co-authored with Carl Bernstein. That report led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Is his latest book going to lead removal of another president?
Lizi Rahan, author, columnist, educator and activist living in New York
















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