(CNN) Faced with undeniable evidence that he purposely downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic this spring to a public desperate for credible information about the threat posed by Covid-19, President Donald Trump has come up with a novel defense that goes something like this: If what I said was so bad, then why didn't Bob Woodward go public with it at the time?! "If Bob Woodward thought what I said was bad then he should have immediately, right after I said it, gone out to the authorities so they can prepare," Trump said at a campaign event official White House press conference on Thursday afternoon. Just to be very clear at what Trump is saying here, let's go through it step-by-step:1. In a series of interviews beginning in December 2019 and ending in July 2020, Trump talks to Woodward, the legendary Washington Post reporter, about -- among other things -- how the coronavirus is transmitted (via droplets in the air), how much more serious it is than people realize and how he is purposely downplaying that severity to the public. Woodward collects this information -- and lots of other information -- into a book entitled "Rage" that is set to be released on Tuesday.

Source: CNN September 10, 2020 21:00 UTC