Donald Trump “deliberately misled” Americans on coronavirus, Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris has said, referring to the US president’s comments on the issue revealed in a forthcoming book authored by a renowned investigative journalist.
Penned by American journalist Bob Woodward, the book ”Rage” to be launched on September 15 has stirred several controversies around Trump’s presidency, weeks before the US election to be held on November 3.
Woodward in the book claimed that Trump during several interviews to him said that he downplayed the coronavirus threat. US has so far reported 6,397,227 coronavirus cases and 191,789 fatalities –both the numbers highest in the world.
“I wanted to, I wanted to always play it (coronavirus threat) down,” Trump was purportedly heard telling Woodward in an audio clip released by The Washington Post. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic,” Trump told the veteran journalist in March.
According to the book, Trump in July told the author, “Don’t worry about it (coronavirus), Bob. OK? Don’t worry about it. We’ll get to do another book. You”ll find I was right.” Reacting to Trump’s comments, Indian-American Senator Harris on Thursday said, “He deliberately misled the American people, because he thought it would look bad for him.”
“These are real people, people with families, with plans, with dreams that have been taken from them in many cases, and, you know, obviously Donald Trump didn’t cause COVID-19, but he has failed in his most basic duty, which is the duty of a leader, especially in a moment of crisis to not only protect, but to tell the truth.”
“This is just basically unforgivable for a president. And the reality is Americans are not going to stand for it,” she said during in a virtual fundraiser.
