Washington, D.C. — Neera Tanden, CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, released the following statement today after excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book revealed shocking revelations about President Donald Trump’s knowledge of the damage that COVID-19 would inflict on the U.S. public health and economic system.
According to tape-recorded conversations, Trump admitted the virus was “deadly” and was briefed by national security adviser Robert O’Brien that COVID-19 would be “ the biggest national security threat [he would] face in [his] presidency.”
These revelations make clear that Trump knew exactly what he was doing when he allowed the coronavirus to run rampant in states, cities, and communities in every corner of the U.S. The tens of thousands of Americans dead or struggling with long-term effects of this disease, the lost jobs, the shuttered businesses, the children absent from the classroom, and loss of everyday activities from weddings to funerals to kids’ play dates is because the president put his political standing over his job to protect our country.
We know now that Trump is not merely incompetent—he poses an active threat to our country. He played down the danger of the coronavirus, and when it reached our shores, he was utterly incapable of handling the crisis. Trump has committed a serious dereliction of duty and failed every person and family in this country, and every person that has enabled this dangerous president shares responsibility for the situation we find ourselves in today.
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