Ex-aides attack Trump in book

Donald Trump is portrayed as a ‘‘dangerous’’ and untruthful leader by his top former defence and intelligence chiefs in a new book by journalist Bob Woodward, which also reveals that the US president thought coronavirus was ‘‘deadly’’ as early as the start of February but downplayed it to avoid panic.

In the book, Trump is called ‘‘unfit’’ for office by Jim Mattis, his former defence secretary, while Dan Coats, his former director of national intelligence, says ‘‘he doesn’t know the difference between the truth and a lie’’.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the Trump administration’s top infectious diseases expert, is quoted as saying that the president’s ‘‘attention span is like a minus number’’ and ‘‘his sole purpose is to get reelected’’.

The scathing remarks add to the already sizeable group of people who have served Trump at senior levels and are now openly critical of him.

The comments appear in Rage, by Woodward, pictured – one half of the journalistic double act that blew open the Watergate scandal, which toppled President Richard Nixon in 1974. Extracts were reported by CNN and The Washington Post.

The book says that on January 28, Robert O’Brien, the national security adviser, reportedly told Trump that the virus ‘‘will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency’’.

On February 7, Trump, in one of 18 interviews he gave Woodward, stressed the seriousness of the virus. The audio was released yesterday. ‘‘This is deadly stuff,’’ he said.

The comments have led to accusations that Trump misled the American people about the seriousness of the virus, given that at the time, he repeatedly compared Covid-19 to flu and said it would simply ‘‘go away’’.

It was not until March 13 that the Trump administration declared a national emergency over the pandemic, followed by a high-profile campaign to ‘‘stop the spread’’ of the virus.

In another interview with Woodward, on March 19, Trump is quoted as saying of coronavirus that ‘‘I wanted to always play it down’’ because ‘‘I don’t want to create a panic’’ – another comment jumped on by critics yesterday.

Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, said: ‘‘He failed to do his job on purpose. It was a life-and-death betrayal of the American people.’’

Trump said yesterday that he did nothing wrong.

‘‘I’m a cheerleader for this country. I love our country. And I don’t want people to be frightened,’’ he told reporters at the White House.

‘‘I don’t want to create panic, as you say. And certainly, I’m not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy. We want to show confidence. We want to show strength.’’

He said he was ‘‘very open’’ with Woodward, while calling the book ‘‘another political hit job’’.