Bob Woodward was shocked by what Trump told young son Barron about the coronavirus

Watergate reporter Bob Woodward On Monday, he recalled a comment by former President Donald Trump that left him “as stunned as I’ve ever been as a reporter.”

On Monday’s “CNN Tonight,” Woodward shared a recording of Trump recounting what he told his youngest son, Barron Trump, in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. The recording was part of interviews recorded for Woodward’s 2020 book Anger, which is now being released separately asTrump tapes“.

Speaking with Woodward on March 19, 2020, Trump said that Barron, then 13, asked what was going on and she replied, Pure and simple. It came out of China. And it had to stop. And to be honest with you Baron, they should have known it was a problem two months ago… the world wouldn’t have had a problem. We could have easily stopped it.”

CNN Tonight’s Jake Tapper admitted that the blame really lies with the Chinese government for covering up the initial spread of COVID-19. But he reminded viewers of how Trump himself is warned of its potential dangers – and chose to do nothing.

During that particular interview with Trump, Woodward said he had no idea about the warning the then-president had received from his national security advisers about the virus.

When Woodward learned of the warning, he said he listened to the tape again and concluded: “Oh my God, Trump is lying not only to me, but to his son, and he’s saying, something about it.”

“Donald Trump could do something about it by being honest and warning the public that he has a constitutional and moral responsibility to do as president,” Woodward continued.

Watch the interview here.

This article originally appeared HuffPost: and updated.

Related to…