Woodward defends sitting on Trump interview
By Zack Budryk - 09/09/20 06:33 PM EDT
Journalist Bob Woodward defended his decision to delay reporting that President Trump privately told him the coronavirus pandemic would be particularly deadly.
“He tells me this, and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, that’s interesting, but is it true?’ Trump says things that don’t check out, right?†Woodward told The Associated Press, in reference to Trump telling him the virus was “deadly stuff†in February. Trump made the comments in an interview for Woodward's book "Rage," set to be released next week.
Woodward told the AP he was not convinced Trump was receiving accurate information about the virus until May, when it had spread around the country.
“If I had done the story at that time about what he knew in February, that’s not telling us anything we didn’t know,†he said, saying that at that point he prioritized getting the book published before the election in November.
“That was the demarcation line for me,†Woodward told the AP. “Had I decided that my book was coming out on Christmas, the end of this year, that would have been unthinkable.â€
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https://thehill.com/homenews/media/515761-woodward-defends-sitting-on-trump-interview
