Bob Woodward criticised for publishing Donald Trump’s COVID-19 remark after a delay of six months

Americans widely criticised investigative journalist Bob Woodward after a report was published recently, where the Washington Post journalist quoted the US President Donald Trump saying he intentionally downplayed the threat of COVID-19 pandemic.

Author and associate editor for the Washington Post, Woodward interviewed Trump for his book ‘Rage’. CNN on Wednesday published audio recordings of excerpts from the conversation in which Trump said, “I wanted to always play it down, I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”

“The most underrated thing about Trump is how stupid he is. He is a genuinely dumb man. To say these things to Woodward knowing he’s being recorded is spectacularly moronic. Can’t spell liar, can’t pronounce Yosemite. Dumb as a rock,” tweeted Rex Chapman, former Basketball player.

On one hand, where Trump is being criticised for downplaying the risk of coronavirus, even after knowing the threat of it,  Woodward, who taped the US President’s remark six months ago, has drawn several flakes for not publishing the report sooner.

David Sirota, a political commentator and a radio host, tweeted, “This is the biggest scandal in the history of journalism. A reporter suppressed the tape of a president warning that a virus was lethal & airborne. 200,000 people died as the tape was suppressed.”

“There is no ethical or moral defense of Woodward’s decision to not publish these tapes as soon as they were made. If there was any chance it could save a single life, he was obligated to do so. Bob Woodward put making money over his moral and professional duty,” tweeted John Stanton, former editor of Buzzfeed.

Woodward, a Washington Post journalist who rose to fame after his coverage of the Watergate Scandal during Richard Nixon’s presidency, interviewed Trump on February 7, where he admitted that the virus was transmitted through the air.

He said, “It goes through air, Bob, that’s always tougher than the touch. The air, you just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed.” He added that the coronavirus was more deadly “than even your strenuous flus.”

Six months into the pandemic, around 190,000 people have died in the United States due to COVID-19, and more than 6.3 million people have been infected with the virus in the country.