U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged back in March that he was deliberately playing down the threat of COVID-19, even as he publicly claimed that the coronavirus would “disappear” several times over the following days, weeks and months.

“I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic,” Trump told veteran journalist Bob Woodward in an interview recorded on March 19.

Trump also acknowledged that he knew in March that the virus was a threat to different age groups, though he has publicly claimed children were “virtually immune” as recently as August.

The interview is one of more than a dozen Trump provided for Woodward’s upcoming book, Rage. Woodward provided copies of the tapes to CNN and the Washington Post ahead of the release of the book.

Global's Reggie Cecchini has more.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/7324226/donald-trump-bob-woodward-playing-down-recording/

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