Read the video transcript here arrow up arrow down
Donald Trump, US President
"As the British government said in World War II:" Keep calm and carry on "- keep calm and carry on. That's what I did. This madman who wrote the book says:" Trump knew something ". They would have liked me to scream: people are dying! No, no - we did everything right." Roland Nelles, DER SPIEGEL "The new revelations by Bob Woodward, this star journalist, are causing real shock waves in the American election campaign. Donald Trump is coming under extreme pressure because people can of course clearly see that he was telling the untruth here in the corona crisis has that he was trying to downplay the whole thing here. "
According to Woodward, Trump knew early on how dangerous the virus actually is.
Instead of warning the population, he repeatedly played down the threat.
When asked about it, the President reacted thinly.
Reporter: Why did you lie to the American people? And why should we believe you now?
Donald Trump, US President
"That's a terrible question. A terrible phrase. I didn't lie. What I said: we have to stay calm and don't panic. And your question, it is really a shame. It is A shame for ABC, a shame for your employer - and that's the answer. Because I - I - love. Of course, I didn't lie. "
Trump's challenger Joe Biden sees his chance in the election campaign.
And put your finger in the wound - with a commercial.
Roland Nelles, DER SPIEGEL
"Trump is trying to dismiss it as a political hit job, as an attack on the president, as a deliberate attack. But I think it won't work so well this time."
Inconvenient for Trump: Bob Woodward taped the conversations - recorded in several telephone interviews.
Audio recording Donald Trump (March 19):
"I always wanted to downplay it. I still downplay it. Because I don't want to panic."
Roland Nelles, DER SPIEGEL
"What is of course pretty absurd about the whole story is that Trump says all the time that he was trying to downplay the thing, the corona virus, because he didn't want to spread panic. I think it's absurd because Trump Of course, he has absolutely no qualms about spreading panic when it comes to other topics. Take, for example, the topic of Law and Order. All the time he does nothing other than spread fear and panic. "
As with this election commercial that portrays "Joe Biden's America" as a truly apocalyptic place.
Trump's loyal base continues to stand by the president's side, come what may - and there is still a lot to come: Bob Woodward's book alone contains other explosive topics that the president is confronted with: from racist remarks to statements about secret nuclear weapons systems everything is included.
Roland Nelles, DER SPIEGEL
"I think in the end Donald Trump will of course still use the last few weeks to pull out all possible stops. We don't know what can happen in the remaining weeks. A new book may appear "There can be other twists and turns. Things can still come out of which you have no idea. Well, I would still be very careful now to write off Trump completely. But of course this scandal harms him, these tapes harm him - that is perfectly clear. "
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/KMEYMJKESBAZBE4MRBAM4TGHIQ.jpg)
