LANSING – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unloaded on President Donald Trump on Thursday over revelations from a new book by investigative reporter Bob Woodward, calling Trump “the biggest threat to the American people.”
The Washington Post, based on hours of taped interviews Trump gave Woodward, of Watergate fame, reported Wednesday that Trump knew in early February that the coronavirus was spread through the air and was deadlier than the flu, and had been warned by experts it would pose a serious challenge to the U.S., but that Trump wanted to downplay the seriousness of the virus to avoid creating a panic.
“It’s just devastating to hear that when we’ve been working so hard to save lives,” Whitmer, who is a national co-chair of the Joe Biden Democratic presidential campaign, said at a news conference in Lansing.
“This administration has been reckless and not particularly well-informed,” she said.
More: Trump knew the coronavirus was ‘deadly stuff’ but chose to downplay it, according to recordings revealed in new Woodward book
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“It’s a whole other thing to be reckless and to be deceptive and to have American lives lost.”
A Trump campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Trump said on Twitter Thursday that Woodward had the recordings of his interviews for months, without making them public.
“If he thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didn’t he immediately report them in an effort to save lives?” Trump asked. “Didn’t he have an obligation to do so? No, because he knew they were good and proper answers. Calm, no panic!”
Trump was expected to arrive in Michigan Thursday evening for a campaign rally at an airport hangar near Freeland.
Studies have shown that federal action just one or two weeks earlier could have saved tens of thousands of lives, Whitmer said.
“The biggest threat to the American people is the president,” she said.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.
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