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American journalist Bob Woodward’s book ‘Rage’, set to be launched on September 15, has stirred several controversies around the presidency of Donald Trump weeks before US Elections are scheduled to be held in November.
The much anticipated book is based on 18 interviews that Woodward conducted with Trump. The journalist was also granted special access to the top officials inside the White House and the book reveals the inner workings of the president and his administration.
‘Rage’ is the sequel to his 2018 book ‘Fear: Trump in the White House’.
Here are a few interesting takeaways from the book:
Donald Trump’s equation with the North Korean leader
According to an article published in The Washington Post (where Woodward is an editor) containing excerpts of the book, Trump said he was impressed with Kim Jong-un when he first met him in Singapore in 2018 and that Kim was “far beyond smart.”
In engaging with nuclear arms talks with Kim, the US President ignored the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) assessments that North Korea would never give up its nuclear weapons.
CIA has “no idea” how to handle Pyongyang, Trump had reportedly told Kim, and the North Korean reportedly described his relationship with Trump as “a fantasy film”.
Dismissal of Black Americans’ pain
When asked if the US President, as a white man, had a responsibility to better understand the anger and pain of Black Americans, he said, “No, I don’t feel that at all.”
According to Trump, the unemployment rate among Black Americans fell right before the coronavirus pandemic and the systemic racism the journalist was trying to highlight was present everywhere. “I think probably less here than most places. Or less here than many places,” the Trump said.
When asked by Woodward whether racism is in the United States in such a way that it affects people’s lives, Trump replied: “I think it is. And it’s unfortunate. But I think it is.”
Downplayed the Covid-19 risk
“This is deadly stuff,” Trump had told Woodward on February 7. Even as the President told the journalist several times that he was aware of the ‘deadly’ and ‘highly contagious’ nature of coronavirus, he repeatedly downplayed its threat in his public rallies and meetings.
Trump revealed that he “played it down” with regard to the severity of Covid-19 to the American people as he “didn’t want to create panic”. “The virus has nothing to do with me. It’s not my fault. It’s — China let the damn virus out,” CNN quoted Trump in his interaction with the journalist.
The President has recently come under fire for not taking the Covid-19 threat seriously. Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris in a statement said, “So much of this pain could have been avoided, but President Trump refused to tell the truth or to act to protect the American people. The horrifying toll of Trump’s deadly disinformation and negligence in the lives of grieving families and to our economy is a historic national tragedy.”
‘Dangerous’ and ‘unfit’ to be commander in chief
The book also mentions viewpoints of Trump’s former top national security officials on his presidency. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis, former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are some of them.
According to James Mattis, Trump is ‘dangerous’ and ‘unfit’ to be commander in chief.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US administration’s top infectious disease expert, is quoted in the book too. Trump’s leadership is ‘rudderless’ and that his ‘attention span is like a minus number’, he reportedly said.
(with agency inputs)
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