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Donald Trump, US President
"The fact is, I am a cheerleader for this country. I love our country. I don't want people to be scared. I don't want to panic. And of course I won't get the country or the world upset bring. "
Joe Biden, Democratic presidential candidate
"It's disgusting. The day we learned that one hundred and ninety thousand Americans have now died. And he knew it."
The background is the book by the legendary reporter Bob Woodward.
With the help of audio recordings, the Watergate journalist should be able to prove that the president knew exactly about the danger of the corona virus very early on.
Trump told Woodward in mid-March that he wanted to "downplay the danger and avoid panic".
The news immediately brought a new dynamic to the election campaign:
Joe Biden, Democratic nominee
"We just learned from Washington Post columnist Bob Woodward that the President of the United States admitted on tape in February that he knew about Covid-19 - that it was airborne. He knew how deadly it was - far more deadly than the flu. He knew it and deliberately downplayed it. Worse, he lied to the American people. He knowingly lied about the threat to the country - for months. "
Trump himself had to defend himself in front of the press - and did it more badly than right.
Reporter:
How do you reassure the American public that they can trust you?
Donald Trump, US President
"Well, that's what trust is about: we have to have leadership. We have to show leadership. And the last thing you want to do is create panic in the country."
Reporter:
Mr. President, don't you think that if you had been more honest with the American people, more lives could have been saved? Are you taking responsibility for some of the 200,000 deaths? Donald Trump, US President
"If we hadn't done what we did, millions of people would have died. We closed our country. Very quickly and very effectively. We did our job. We got from this terrible disease along with to the rest of the world. And then we reopened the country. Now we know those at risk. We know who the virus is attacking, who it's so bad against. And I think in every way - we have an amazing job done. "
That was certainly not the last word on the subject.
Thanks to Woodward's audio recordings, this time it is not so easy for the US President to shake off the allegations as "fake news".
