President Donald Trump knew Covid-19 was deadlier than the flu before it hit the US but wanted to play down the crisis, according to a new book.
Bob Woodward, the journalist who broke the Watergate scandal, interviewed Mr Trump 18 times from December to July.
Mr Trump told him the virus was “deadly stuff” before the first US death was confirmed, later adding he wanted to “play it down” to avoid causing panic.
The president has previously called the book a “fake”.
Mr Trump tweeted in August: “The Bob Woodward book will be a FAKE, as always, just as many of the others have been.”
He also called the storied reporter a “social pretender”, “who never has anything good to say”.
On Wednesday, some US media released parts of the interviews between the president and the journalist, revealing his reported remarks on the pandemic as well as race and other issues.
Here are some of the key quotes so far from Rage, which will be released on 15 September.
