The revelation in Bob Woodward’s upcoming book that President Donald Trump privately understood the threat posed by COVID-19 while deliberately downplaying its danger in public inspired a raft of viral attack ads on Wednesday.
Trump, in a taped February interview with journalist Woodward for his tell-all “Rage,” slated for release next week, admitted the coronavirus is “more deadly than even your strenuous flus” and “deadly stuff.”
The conservative Lincoln Project, whose Republican members are working to defeat Trump in November’s election, contrasted what Trump said in that and subsequent interviews with Woodward with what he was telling the American public:
The video has garnered more than 3.4 million views on Twitter alone.
It’s unclear whether the ad will air on television ― or if it will even have any influence on swing voters in the 2020 election.
The progressive PAC MeidasTouch dubbed Trump a #PretendPresident with this video:
The PAC Really American spelled out why Trump “doesn’t care” in its clip and urged Americans to ”end the nightmare.”
Democratic 2020 nominee Joe Biden’s campaign described Trump’s lies as “unconscionable” with its response:
And Jon Ossoff, the Democratic challenger to Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), compared Trump’s comments with those of Ossoff’s 2020 election rival:
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