A new book by veteran Watergate reporter Bob Woodward says that Donald Trump secretly sent coveted Covid-19 testing machines to Vladimir Putin for personal use when they were in short supply, a claim angrily dismissed by the Trump campaign.
The book, titled War, also includes a claim that Trump has secretly stayed in touch with Putin since leaving office, according to excerpts cited by US media.
All of these “made-up stories” are false, the Trump campaign said.
“President Trump gave him absolutely no access for this trash book that either belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore or used as toilet tissue,” said Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung in a statement to the fact and us.
A newly published book claims that former President Donald Trump, in a top-secret move, sent a Covid-19 testing machine to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the peak of the pandemic while it was at its dire worst in the United States, amid a critical shortage of testing supplies. The book claims this happened during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the healthcare system of the U.S. badly needed to acquire just enough testing equipment to meet the surging demand.
The book also reveals that the moment Trump decided to send testing equipment, no one in the public knew what was going on, as only a few officials knew about the exchange at the time. The U.S. was facing a critical deficiency in testing capacities, which delayed efforts to control the virus at the time. Claims regarding Trump’s relationship with Putin are very controversial, raising new and numerous questions about Trump’s friendship with Putin.
The book does not mention why Trump supposedly did this or if there was any official or unofficial arrangement made with the Russian government in return for such an action. To date, comments from that regard from the White House and representatives of Trump have been lacking, and health officials have maintained their silence on the issue.
Critics would argue that, if it indeed happened, then that decision endangered public health in the U.S. because, in this instance, each testing machine was desperately required to prevent and minimize the spread of the virus within the country. On the other hand, Trump supporters may counter that maintaining diplomatic relations with key global players like Russia would well be regarded as the latter a “necessity” for a world crisis.
The revelation surely brings debate over the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic by Trump, a controversially vast subject. The slow response of his administration and an absence of sufficiently conducted testing, personal protection gear in the first few months, were criticized. Only time will tell whether this new allegation leads to additional investigations or official statements; it will definitely add another layer to the complex and controversial legacy of the man.
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