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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 is quoted as telling him the virus was “deadly stuff” before the first US death was confirmed.
Responding to the book, the president said he had wanted to avoid causing public panic over the outbreak.
Some 190,000 Americans have been recorded as dying with Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, some US media released parts of the interviews between the president and the journalist, revealing his reported remarks on the outbreak 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.
On the virus
In interviews with Woodward, Mr Trump indicated that he knew more about the severity of the illness than he had said publicly.
According to a tape of the call, Mr Trump told Woodward in February that the coronavirus was deadlier than the flu.
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“It goes through the air,” Mr Trump told Woodward on 7 February.
“That’s always tougher than the touch. You don’t have to touch things. Right? But the air, you just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed.
“And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.”
Later that month, Mr Trump promised the virus was “very much under control”, and that the case count would soon be close to zero. He also publicly implied the flu was more dangerous than Covid-19.
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Speaking on Capitol Hill on 10 March, Mr Trump said: “Just stay calm. It will go away.”
Nine days later, days after the White House declared the pandemic a national emergency, the president told Woodward: “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
- From 2018: Woodward on Trump – the explosive quotes
- How Trump’s attitude toward coronavirus has shifted
How did the White House react?
Speaking from the White House in Wednesday, Mr Trump told reporters: “I don’t want people to be frightened, 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, we want to show strength as a nation and that’s what I’ve done.”
The president – who is running for re-election in November – said the Woodward book was “a political hit job”.
Responding to reporters’ questions on the book on Wednesday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said: “The president never downplayed the virus, once again.
“The president expressed calm. The president was serious about this.”
In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Trump’s Democratic White House challenger Joe Biden said that “while a deadly disease ripped through our nation, [the president] failed to do his job – on purpose”.
“It was a life or death betrayal of the American people.”
On race
When Woodward brought up the Black Lives Matter protests in a conversation on 19 June, suggesting that “white, privileged” people like themselves ought to work to understand how black Americans feel.
“You really drank the Kool-Aid, didn’t you?” Mr Trump said. “Just listen to you.”
The nationwide protests against police brutality and racism were sparked by George Floyd’s death in May.
Mr Trump also repeated the suggestion that he had done more for African-Americans than any president aside from Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery.
Later, on 8 July, Mr Trump again reiterated that he had “done a tremendous amount for the black community” but was “not feeling any love”.
The Washington Post also cited an interview where Woodward asked the president about whether America has systemic racism.
Mr Trump said while these problems exist everywhere, “I think probably less here than most places, or less here than many places”.
The president also acknowledged racism affects the lives of people in the US, saying “it’s unfortunate”.
On North Korea
Woodward’s book also cites dozens of letters between Mr Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
In the letters, filled with flowery language, Mr Kim reportedly referred to Mr Trump as “Your Excellency” and noted their “deep and special friendship will work as a magical force”.
On other presidents
Mr Trump reportedly told Woodward that he felt his predecessor, Barack Obama was “highly overrated”.
“I don’t think Obama’s smart,” Mr Trump reportedly said. “And I don’t think he’s a great speaker.”
According to CNN, Mr Trump told Woodward he made President George W Bush “look like a stupid moron, which he was”.
