Bob Woodward: Trump Doesn't Seem To Know 'What Is Real And What Is Unreal'
Journalist Bob Woodward told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that his interviews with Donald Trump left him in doubt about whether the president can distinguish between what’s real and what is just in his own head.
Damning excerpts from Woodward’s new book, “Rage,” based on 18 taped interviews with Trump, have sparked an outcry over the past week after recordings revealed the president was aware of the danger of the coronavirus pandemic in early February. He admitted on tape in March that he deliberately downplayed its threat, saying he didn’t want to create a panic.
“I don’t know, to be honest, whether he’s got it straight in his head what is real and what is unreal,” the journalist said on “Anderson Cooper 360” on Tuesday night. “That is why at the end of the book, I say in totality my judgment is this is the wrong man for the job.”
Veteran journalist Bob Woodward tells @andersoncooper he does not believe Pres. Trump knows in his head "what is real and what is unreal."
"That is why at the end of the book I say... 'this is the wrong man for the job.'" https://t.co/lf1upudjfy pic.twitter.com/VGs2QDmNwv— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 16, 2020
The veteran reporter said he could see no other conclusion after seeking the “whole picture” through discussions with Trump himself as well as people in the White House, Pentagon, CIA and State Department.
“How can you have the experience of living this White House the way I have for the last four plus years ... and not reach that conclusion,” he said.
Woodward has written books about the past four administrations. His reporting with Carl Bernstein on the Watergate scandal led to the resignation of former President Richard Nixon.
“It’s terrifying to hear you say it given the fact that you’ve interviewed so many presidents,” Cooper said. ”Is there any other president you’ve ever interviewed who you would say the same thing of?”
Woodward said there wasn’t.
"We are living in an Orwellian world," says veteran journalist Bob Woodward as Pres. Trump seeks to rewrite the early history of how he handled Covid-19.
Trump "failed to tell the public the truth that he knew," said Woodward earlier in the interview. https://t.co/lf1upudjfy pic.twitter.com/tcsiBAZZNW— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 16, 2020
Earlier in the interview, Cooper played an excerpt from moments earlier on ABC, when Trump was asked during a Q&A why he chose to downplay the threat of coronavirus. Trump denied he ever did and claimed he actually “up-played” it, despite having admitted to downplaying it on tape ― a recording of which Cooper then played.
“We are living in an Orwellian world,” Woodward said. “This is not just about some political problem ... It’s about the lives of people in this country and he was told. He knew.”
Related...
Bob Woodward Reveals Why He Concluded Trump Is The 'Wrong Man For The Job'
Trump Says He Gets Along Best With 'Meaner' Leaders In Newly Released Woodward Audio
Carl Bernstein: 'Homicidal' Trump Turned Supporters Into 'Sacrificial Lambs'
A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus
What should you still be disinfecting to prevent COVID-19?
Is it possible you had coronavirus earlier this year?
How can you manage your anxiety as coronavirus restrictions lift?
Here’s the latest on how long COVID-19 antibodies last.
How will COVID-19 change your office?
Laid off and lost your health insurance? You have options.
Everything you need to know about face masks right now.
Find all our coronavirus coverage here.
Everyone deserves accurate information about COVID-19. Support journalism without a paywall — and keep it free for everyone — by becoming a HuffPost member today.
Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.