Graham reportedly encouraged Trump’s interview with controversial coronavirus comment
South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham reportedly encouraged President Donald Trump to speak with Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward for an interview that led to revelations this week that the president knew how deadly and contagious the coronavirus was in February when publicly he was playing down the threat.
The 18 recorded interviews were part of Woodward’s upcoming book about the Trump presidency, “Rage.”
During the month of February, Trump publicly said he believed the virus would be weaker in the warmer weather, then disappear, and that the U.S. had the virus under control. However, in a Feb. 7, interview with Woodward, Trump said, the coronavirus was more deadly than the flu and can be easily spread from human to human, even as he continued to hold rallies, including one in South Carolina.
Trump wanted to do the interviews with Woodward believing he could persuade the veteran journalist to understand his point of view, according to Politico.
In an interview with the Daily Beast on Wednesday, Graham pointed out Trump didn’t know Woodward sought an interview with the president for his first book on the Trump presidency.
“So I said, well, the guy is a well-known presidential author. And, you know, you got a chance to tell your side of the story. The president agreed and there you go,” Graham told the Daily Beast.
Woodward also interviewed Graham for the book.
Graham discussed Trump’s judicial appointments, which include the Senate approving 300 lifetime appointments to the federal bench. However, in that process, “we’ve weeded out some real wackos,” Graham says in the book, according to NPR News.
In Woodward’s book, Graham is critical of Trump’s photo op at St. John’s Church where law enforcement cleared protesters out just before the president and his entourage walked to the church, which had suffered fire damage in demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
According to NPR, Graham said he scolded Trump for the way he held up a Bible while outside of the church.
“Christians liked it,” Trump reportedly said. But Graham said he’s a Christian and did not like the photo op.
During a call with reporters on Thursday, Graham spoke about the comments Trump made to Woodward about the seriousness of the virus.
Graham said there was initial guidance from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci in late February saying it was OK to continue going out in public such as to movie theaters and bowling alleys. By mid-March, the president shut down the economy as more information about human to human transmission came out.
“I’d say it was came pretty clear in March, that the human to human transmission was greater than everybody thought,” Graham said. “And when the president decided to shut down the economy, that was the right call and a lot of conservatives did not like that. A lot of conservatives pushed back, but I was in the camp supporting the president because I think that decision, along with banning travel from China into the United States in January, February, saved a lot of lives.”
The recent disclosure of Trump’s February comments regarding the seriousness of the threat coronavirus poses to the public has reignited criticism of the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
House Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn, of South Carolina, responded on Twitter to the president’s reported comments.
“The President downplayed this deadly pandemic, refusing to level with the American people about the danger and refusing to develop and implement a national plan to stop the spread,” Clyburn tweeted. “As a result, more than 190,000 Americans have died.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 2:15 PM.
