US President Donald J. Trump , knew of the gravity of the threat emanating from the Coronavirus as far back as February 2020 but chose not to reveal the same to the US public , as per the upcoming book of American journalist Bob Woodward.
The president in a recorded conversation with the journalist Woodward admitted to have withheld the information from the Americans as he did not intend to cause a panic and fear among the people , to cite a report from the Washington Post.
Trump was heard saying in the conversation ,”You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed,” in a February 7 2020 phone call.
He continued ,”And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your flu.”
President Trump was briefed by his intelligence officials and the National Security Advisers on January 28 2020 that the virus was extremely lethal as per the excerpts from Woodwards book titled , ‘Rage’ , that will be out on September 15 2020.
As per the book , NSA Robert O’Brien warned the President that it was the biggest national security threat he has faced so far. Despite multiple warnings from his officials , Trump downplayed the threat and did not disclose it to the public.
Critics have continued to launch scathing attacks on the President for his lack of National Strategy for countering the virus which has resulted in more deaths than necessary and a continuing economic slowdown.
Johns Hopkins University figures state that over 190,000 deaths have taken place in the US and the total cases are over 6.3 million.
Trump and his team has blamed China for not revealing the truth behind the virus which emanated from Wuhan , for the slow US response to the virus.
White House spokeswoman , Kayleigh McEnany briefed the press on Tuesday,”The president has never lied to the public on COVID. The president was expressing calm and his actions reflect that.”
Woodwards book promises to be revealing of a host of secrets about Trump and shall be an intriguing one to read as claimed by those in the know.
