President Trump told journalist Bob Woodward this spring that he was deliberately playing down the severity of the coronavirus to avoid inciting panic, an effort that public-health experts say harmed the nation’s ability to restrict its spread
WASHINGTON—President Trump told journalist Bob Woodward this spring that he was deliberately playing down the severity of the coronavirus to avoid inciting panic as he publicly dismissed the virus’s threat in a way public-health experts say harmed the ability to restrict its spread.
“I wanted to always play it down,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Woodward on March 19, according to audio recordings of the interview obtained by CNN on Wednesday. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
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