New book claims Donald Trump gifted COVID test kits for Vladimir Putin's personal use
Donald Trump reportedly gave Vladimir Putin COVID test kits during a 2020 shortage for his personal use, a new book has revealed.
Donald Trump secretly sent COVID tests to Vladimir Putin during the initial outbreak of coronavirus in 2020, despite a US-wide shortage, a wide-ranging book by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward claims.
The book sets out an enduring relationship between the former US president and the Russian leader, claiming Trump continued speaking to the Russian president after leaving office.
Woodward's book also chronicles some of President Joe Biden's own acknowledged missteps and his struggle to prevent escalation of conflict in the Middle East, including exasperation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over futile efforts to get Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire.
Here are some of the new claims in War, due out later this month.
COVID tests for Putin's personal use
The US was particularly hard-hit by the COVID pandemic in 2020, with few public health restrictions contributing to the rampant spread of the virus which killed nearly 700,000 people between March 2020 and October 2021.
Trump, who was hospitalised with severe COVID in October 2020, sent COVID test kits to Moscow for Mr Putin's personal use, Woodword wrote in excerpts published by the Washington Post on Tuesday.
Mr Putin was reportedly terrified of catching the virus, and implemented a range of measures including his much-mocked long table with metres between him and officials during meetings.
Vladimir Putin became known for extreme COVID measures, such as holding meetings at this long table.
With the coronavirus raging in 2020 and a vaccine still months away, Trump sent the batch of coveted coronavirus tests to his counterpart in Moscow, Woodword wrote.
Mr Putin accepted the supplies but sought to avoid political fallout for Trump, urging he not reveal the dispatch of medical equipment, the book says.
According to the journalist, Putin told Trump: "I don't want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me."
Trump responded with: "I don't care. Fine," according to excerpts published in the Washington Post.
Trump's opponent in the US presidential race, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, said Trump had been "played" and manipulated during a health calamity that saw Americans "dying by the hundreds every day."
"Everybody was scrambling to get kits (and Trump) is sending them to Russia, to a murderous dictator for his personal use," she continued.
Ongoing contact between Trump and Putin
Woodward also cites an unnamed Trump aide who indicated the Republican leader may have spoken to Mr Putin up to seven times since leaving the White House in 2021.
The US-Russia relationship had deteriorated severely since Mr Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a key US ally which has received billions of dollars in aid from the Biden administration.
The book claims at one point in early 2024, Trump ordered an aide out of his office in his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida because he wanted to hold a private call with Mr Putin.
Woodward concluded that Trump's interactions with an authoritarian president at war with a US ally make him more unfit for the presidency than Richard Nixon.
Donald Trump is campaigning for a second term in office as US president.
"Trump was the most reckless and impulsive president in American history and is demonstrating the very same character as a presidential candidate in 2024," Woodward wrote.
Chronicler of presidencies
Woodward is an associate editor at the Washington Post, and is best known for his work uncovering the Watergate scandal with colleague Carl Bernstein, which led to the resignation of US president Richard Nixon.
He has published extensively on the Trump presidency, with War the fourth book in a series since the 2016 election.
Woodward also covers Kamala Harris's foreign policy approach, reporting her comments about "not being silent" on Palestinian deaths in Gaza were at odds with a more amicable approach in private with Mr Netanyahu.
The Israeli ambassador to the US is quoted as saying about Harris: "She wants to be tough in public. But she wasn't as tough privately."
Kamala Harris's private versus public comments were covered in Woodward's book.
Biden resigned to Israeli aggression
Joe Biden's government is also covered extensively in the book, with particular focus on the growing US resignation to Israel's campaign in Gaza and Lebanon following the October 7 Hamas attacks.
The Washington Post reported the government did little to change its Middle East policy despite Israel going past all agreed limits on the key US ally, including Biden's "red line" of a ground invasion of the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
Biden reportedly called Mr Netanyahu a liar, as well as his officials, in expletive-laden outbursts that included calling the Israeli leader a "son of a bitch".
Joe Biden reportedly told aides Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a "liar".
According to the book, the US president was cautious about setting limits on Israel's conduct given Mr Netanyahu's tendency to ignore them.
Trump denies reporting as 'made-up'
The Trump campaign blasted the book as "made-up stories."
They are "the work of a truly demented and deranged man," spokesperson Steven Cheung told AFP.
Trump has repeatedly praised Mr Putin. During the 2016 campaign, the Republican memorably urged Moscow to "find" thousands of Hillary Clinton's emails.
US intelligence agencies later concluded Russia had meddled in that election in Trump's favour, although a special counsel's investigation found no conspiracy between the Trump camp and Moscow.
ABC/AFP
By：https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-09/book-claims-trump-sent-covid-tests-to-putin/104449904(责任编辑：admin)
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