Washington (CNN) Journalist Bob Woodward's new book "Rage" sent shockwaves across Washington on Wednesday that left the White House, Trump campaign and congressional Republicans scrambling to react to revelations that President Donald Trump concealed what he knew early on about how dangerous and deadly the coronavirus was . But Trump continued to publicly downplay the threat for weeks afterward, and he told Woodward on March 19 he did so purposefully. After CNN and The Washington Post reported on the book's contents Wednesday, the White House insisted Trump has "never lied to the American public" about coronavirus. Trump added of Woodward: "It's a book that, I gave him some quotes and frankly, we'll see how the book turned out. Trump conducted 18 interviews with Woodward for "Rage," which Woodward recorded, including some phone conversations late into the evenings without his staff.

Source: CNN September 09, 2020 17:42 UTC