President Trump told Bob Woodward he was 'just not' worried about contracting COVID-19, in newly released audio
Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images
- President Donald Trump told journalist Bob Woodward earlier this year that he "just wasn't" worried about contracting COVID-19, according to newley released audio tapes by CNN.
- In an interview conducted on April 13, Woodward asked Trump: "You're risking getting it, of course...Are you worried about that?", to which the president responded: "No, I'm not. I don't know why I'm not. I'm not."
- The president has been hospitalized for further monitoring and treatment for COVID-19 to "make sure things work out."
- Trump, 74, is at an increased risk for a more serious case of COVID-19 because of his age, weight, and sex.
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President Donald Trump told the journalist Bob Woodward that he wasn't afraid of contracting the coronavirus, according to a newly released audio by CNN.
In an April 13 interview, the Washington Post reporter warned the president that he was at higher risk of getting infected with the virus.
"You're risking getting it, of course," Woodward said, according to CNN. "The way you move around and have those briefings and deal with people. Are you worried about that?"
"No, I'm not. I don't know why I'm not. I'm not," the president responded.
When Woodward asked the president why he wasn't worried, Trump responded: "I don't know. I'm just not."
The new audio recording comes as Trump announced that he and the First Lady Melania Trump both tested positive for COVID-19.
Within 24 hours of his announcement, the president was hospitalized at Walter Reed Hospital for what the White House physician has said was for "further monitoring" and treatment, according to a memo.
"I want to thank everybody for the tremendous support," Trump said in the first video since the diagnosis, which he posted to Twitter. "I'm going to Walter Reed Hospital: I think I'm doing very well, but we're going to make sure that things work out. The First Lady is doing very well, so thank you very much, I appreciate it, I will never forget it, thank you."
In a previous interview, first reported by CNN in September, Trump told Woodward that the elderly and those with "a condition" would be in "big trouble" if they test positive for COVID-19."
"It moves rapidly, Bob," Trump said, according to CNN. "It moves rapidly and viciously. If you're the wrong person and if it gets you, your life is pretty much over if you're in the wrong group."
Trump is 74 years old and obese, and in the "high-risk" category. This chart shows how the president's age, obesity, and other health factors increase his risk of a severe coronavirus infection
The recordings are part of wide-ranging interviews for Woodward's book "Rage" that was released earlier this month.
According to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University, more than 7.3 million Americans have contracted the virus, and 208,000 have died from it.
Read more:
- Bob Woodward says Trump called his book 'a fake' on Twitter 90 minutes after he warned the president it would be 'tough'
- 8 of the most shocking claims and Trump quotes in Bob Woodward's new bombshell book about the president
- Woodward claims he sat on Trump coronavirus remarks for 6 months in order to do more fact checking
- Trump releases new video says he's being hospitalized so that 'things work out' after COVID-19 diagnosis
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