Donald Trump always publicly compares the novel coronavirus with the flu.
Audio recordings from the spring have now emerged, according to which the US president has deliberately downplayed the real danger.
According to Donald Trump, the novel coronavirus is by no means more deadly than the flu.
Audio recordings of an interview from the spring now reveal that the US president is deliberately downplaying the danger.
That calls Joe Biden on the scene.
Meanwhile, Trump defends himself against accusations of lies - and tries to make a daring comparison.
Update from September 11th, 9:19 a.m.:
After allegations against
Donald Trump
that he did not tell the truth about the dangers of the
corona virus
, the
US President is
now vehemently
resisting
.
When asked by journalists at a press conference in the
White House
, Trump replied: “I did not lie.
I said we have to stay calm, we mustn't panic. "
He attacked the press representative, saying the question asked was "a shame".
But colleagues of the said journalist also asked Trump critical questions about the trivialization of the
corona pandemic
.
The President repeatedly avoided this, preferring instead to mention the successful crisis management of the US government in Corona times: "We have done phenomenal work."
Corona downplaying: US President Donald Trump compares himself to Winston Churchill
Meanwhile, Trump compared his own performance with the political achievements of the legendary British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
.
“When Hitler bombed London, Churchill, a great leader, often went to a roof in London and spoke.
And he always spoke with serenity.
He said we need to be calm.
No, we did it right and we did a job like no one else. "
Trump was not exactly true to the truth.
Because Churchill is known to have observed the bombing of the German Wehrmacht on London from a roof.
However, he never gave a speech to the people.
Only after the end of the war in June 1945 did Churchill speak of a canopy in the British election campaign, as photos show.
First report from September 10, 3:27 p.m.:
Washington - Donald Trump * allowed himself to be carried away to a sensational confession in the middle of the Corona crisis, but also in the hot election campaign.
In his own words, the US President
deliberately downplayed
the
danger posed by
Sars-CoV-2 * so as not to cause panic.
At the same time, excerpts from an interview with journalist Bob Woodward published on Wednesday showed that Trump was informed at the beginning of February that the
virus is airborne
and has a higher death rate than the flu.
During this time, however, he publicly referred to the low number of cases in the United States and repeatedly claimed that the virus would simply go away over time.
In the United States, around 190,000 people died after contracting the
coronavirus
- in part because they did not take warnings from experts and precautionary measures such as masks seriously.
Trump on corona risk: US President with honest words to Watergate journalist
Woodward has enjoyed legendary status in US journalism since he and colleague Carl Bernstein played a pivotal role in the
Watergate scandal
that cost President Richard Nixon the job in 1974.
His
new book "Rage"
(for example: anger) will not appear until next week.
The broadcaster “CNN” reported on the book in advance and also published short audio recordings from the interviews.
Among other things, you can hear Trump saying after the introduction on March 19, “To be honest with you, Bob”: “I always wanted to downplay it.
I still like to downplay it because I
don't want to panic
. "
Trump on corona risk: Statements do not match public instructions
In a conversation on February 7, Trump said, according to the recordings: "This is
deadly stuff
." People don't have to touch contact surfaces to become infected: "You just breathe in air, and that's how it is transmitted." The disease is also
"deadlier" than the flu
, which kills 25,000 to 30,000 Americans each year.
"Who would have ever thought that, right?" Remarked the President.
Meanwhile, at a press conference in the White House at the end of February, Trump spoke of the importance of washing your hands often and not touching every handle - and that you should treat the disease in the same way
as you would with the flu
.
Trump's
spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany
did not deny the authenticity of the recordings.
A few weeks before the US presidential elections *, she said at the same time: "The President has never lied to the American public about Covid." But one of his tasks is to ensure that the population
stays calm
.
“The president
never downplayed
the
virus
.
The president was calm.
He was hopeful, ”said McEnany.
At the same time, he took measures early on, such as restricting entry from China.
+
Blames Donald Trump for tens of thousands of dead: Joe Biden steps on the gas in the election campaign.
© CHIP SOMODEVILLA / afp
Trump and the Corona danger: Biden blames the US President for tens of thousands of deaths
Meanwhile, Trump's challenger in the White House race, Joe Biden *, attacked the president sharply.
“He knew how deadly it was and deliberately downplayed it.
Worse still, he
lied to the American people
. "Tens of thousands of lives could have been saved if Trump had acted faster, Biden said.
(dpa) * merkur.de is part of the Ippen network
Meanwhile, Trump is proposed by a European politician for the Nobel Peace Prize - Barack Obama is also getting fat.
At a press conference, the US president clashed with a journalist - because he was wearing a mask.
Shortly before, Trump had publicly attacked the Democrats for scare tactics.