Bob Woodward: Trump admitted to downplaying COVID

MaeZe · Sep 9, 2020

Look at what we could have had with a competent POTUS:

USA Today: Senegal's quiet COVID success: Test results in 24 hours, temperature checks at every store, no fights over masks

COVID-19 test results come back within 24 hours – or even faster. Hotels have been transformed into quarantine units. Scientists are racing to develop a cutting-edge, low-cost ventilator.

This isn't the pandemic response in South Korea, New Zealand or another country held up as a model of coronavirus containment success.

It's Senegal, a west African country with a fragile health care system, a scarcity of hospital beds and about seven doctors for every 100,000 people. And yet Senegal, with a population of 16 million, has tackled COVID-19 aggressively and, so far, effectively. More than six months into the pandemic, the country has about 14,000 cases and 284 deaths.

"You see Senegal moving out on all fronts: following science, acting quickly, working the communication side of the equation, and then thinking about innovation," said Judd Devermont, director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan foreign policy think tank.

Senegal deserves "to be in the pantheon of countries that have ... responded well to this crisis, even given its low resource base," Devermont said.

Just another one of those shit-hole countries.

Roxxsmom · Sep 9, 2020

MaeZe said:
If you look at this analytically, it is possible had Woodward said something sooner, it would be non-news by now. Nothing addressing COVID 19 would have been much different.

By releasing the tapes now, they will definitely have more impact.

Though I still wonder if it's too soon. Trump's people will probably try to dredge up something to dump about Biden in October, particularly if the vaccine doesn't materialize as promised by "that very special date in early November."

It's also possible Woodward was simply spending this time checking sources, and double checking everything for accuracy.

It's kind of mind boggling Trump talked this frankly to Woodward, given his low opinion of journalists who don't work for Fox news. He really can't keep his mouth shut. He wears his corruption like a badge of honor, but thus far he's paid no consequences. I'm praying this changes. Another worry is that there are so many ways the Russians could screw with our elections, and they have detected some attempts in Florida. A surprising number of states use hackable voting machines. Given how few states, how few precincts within those states, decide elections these days, it might not be all that hard to manipulate the results.

This is also interesting. In an interview with Rachel Maddow, Cohen predicts that if Trump loses to Biden, he will likely resign as POTUS and have Pence issue a blanket pardon during his lame duck period.

https://www.facebook.com/msnbc/videos/2767633853503565

I hope we get the chance to find out whether or not this prediction is true.

Marian Perera · Sep 9, 2020

Here in Toronto, about a year ago, a friend and I decided that if Trump lost the election, we'd go on vacation to New York in 2021. We didn't want any of our money going to a country under his administration.

Now, though, even if there wasn't a pandemic, we'd stay away. If he wins, God help the country, and if he loses, God help the country because of what he and his enraged supporters will do. I'm worried that this is going to be a nightmare scenario either way.

frimble3 · Sep 9, 2020

I think Woodward made his best play. If he had released it right away, it would, as others have said, the big revelation would be over by how.
He releases now, it makes a stir. As the fuss settles down, the book itself (and accompanying publicity) comes out September 15. Hits the news, the analysts, the talk shows, and the apologists. Which takes us up to the end of September.
October surprise: Trump, in a fit of rage, stamps his foot and vanishes in a cloud of black smoke. Live, on the evening news. :evil

frimble3 · Sep 9, 2020

Trump, in a fit of rage, stamps his foot and vanishes in a cloud of black smoke.

Which would be the perfect emoji for flouncing, BTW.

Roxxsmom · Sep 9, 2020

frimble3 said:
I think Woodward made his best play. If he had released it right away, it would, as others have said, the big revelation would be over by how.
He releases now, it makes a stir. As the fuss settles down, the book itself (and accompanying publicity) comes out September 15. Hits the news, the analysts, the talk shows, and the apologists. Which takes us up to the end of September.
October surprise: Trump, in a fit of rage, stamps his foot and vanishes in a cloud of black smoke. Live, on the evening news.

Or someone gets a shot of the 666 tattooed on his rump. Or maybe someone finally reveals that bad comb over he didn't want to mess up by visiting the "losers" in the WWI Cemetery is actually hiding little horns.

Though the Devil is supposed to be clever as well as being a man of wealth and taste. Mara Lago is not tasteful, nor is anything else Trump.

frimble3 said:
Which would be the perfect emoji for flouncing, BTW.

Yes, though I always thought one with a little cartoon figure's pants fall down, and they blush and waddle away while trying to hide their embarrassing parts.

frimble3 · Sep 10, 2020

Though the Devil is supposed to be clever as well as being a man of wealth and taste. Mara Lago is not tasteful, nor is anything else Trump.

He's not the Devil - he's the Devil's loser son. Played by Adam Sandler in the movie.
I have always thought that comb-over was covering something suspicious. Which sure isn't a scar from brain-enhancement surgery.

Roxxsmom · Sep 10, 2020

frimble3 said:
He's not the Devil - he's the Devil's loser son. Played by Adam Sandler in the movie.
I have always thought that comb-over was covering something suspicious. Which sure isn't a scar from brain-enhancement surgery.

The Devil's idiot son.

And that should be Trump's ultimate punishment: having Adam Sandler playing him in future movies made about his life.

shakeysix · Sep 10, 2020

Think of all that has gone down since June 1-- NRA? The Wall Scam? The topsy turvy bible thing? Trashing Vets? all forgotten like the Snowdens of yesteryear (feeling a little like Yossarian today). I think Woodward did it exactly right. He had to check his sources, line up his dates--one third of the country and a major cable news outlet, were not going to believe him anyway. Step back and let another couple of bricks slip out of the wall and then slug him down just weeks before the election. 18 interviews you say? That should be about a slug a week from now until November. There will be more. And don't forget the ones he will give himself. --s6

AW Admin · Sep 10, 2020

frimble3 said:
I think Woodward made his best play. If he had released it right away, it would, as others have said, the big revelation would be over by how.
He releases now, it makes a stir. As the fuss settles down, the book itself (and accompanying publicity) comes out September 15. Hits the news, the analysts, the talk shows, and the apologists. Which takes us up to the end of September.
October surprise: Trump, in a fit of rage, stamps his foot and vanishes in a cloud of black smoke. Live, on the evening news.

Here's what Woodward says, via the Washington Post:

Should Bob Woodward have reported Trump’s virus revelations sooner? Here’s how he defends his decision.

First, he didn’t know what the source of Trump’s information was. It wasn’t until months later — in May — that Woodward learned it came from a high-level intelligence briefing in January that was also described in Wednesday’s reporting about the book.
In February, what Trump told Woodward seemed hard to make sense of, the author told me — back then, Woodward said, there was no panic over the virus; even toward the final days of that month, Anthony S. Fauci was publicly assuring Americans there was no need to change their daily habits.

Second, Woodward said, “the biggest problem I had, which is always a problem with Trump, is I didn’t know if it was true.”

Roxxsmom · Sep 10, 2020

Wow, now here's a great whopper.

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/10/9116...onavirus-comments-were-meant-to-show-strength

Maybe someone should hand him an even bigger shovel.

President Trump on Thursday defended his decision to mislead the public about the deadliness of the coronavirus as documented in Bob Woodward's new book, declining to call his misstatements about the virus and its spread a "lie" and saying he needed to show "strength" in the face of the crisis.

"I want to show a level of confidence, and I want to show strength as a leader, and I want to show our country is going to be fine one way or another," Trump said at a news conference.

"There is no lie here. What we're doing is we're leading," he said, insisting that America is "rounding the final turn" of the pandemic and that the nation had done "much, much better than the European Union" in its response to the virus. The U.S. not only has one of the highest coronavirus death rates in the world, but it also has a higher rate of infection than most EU member states.

Sadly, it probably won't have as much an effect as it should, because the folks who support him are in to the bitter end, it seems.

Bob Woodward: Trump admitted to downplaying COVID

MaeZe

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

Marian Perera

starting over

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

shakeysix

blue eyed floozy

AW Admin

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido