New book says Trump secretly sent COVID tests to Putin

Washington — 

Then-president Donald Trump secretly sent COVID trial kits to Vladimir Putin contempt a U.S. shortage during the pandemic, and spoke aggregate times with the Russian person aft leaving office, says an explosive caller publication by Bob Woodward.

The upcoming opus, War, besides chronicles immoderate of President Joe Biden's ain acknowledged missteps and his conflict to forestall escalation of struggle successful the Middle East, including exasperation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implicit futile efforts to get Israel and Hamas to scope a cease-fire.

In excerpts published Tuesday by The Washington Post, wherever helium is an subordinate editor, Woodward lays retired damning details and actions by Trump, who the writer says has retained a idiosyncratic narration with Putin adjacent arsenic Trump campaigns for different statesmanlike word and the Russian president conducts a warfare against Ukraine, a U.S. ally.

With the coronavirus ravaging the satellite successful 2020, Trump sent a batch of trial kits to his counterpart successful Moscow. Putin accepted the supplies but sought to debar governmental fallout for Trump, urging that helium not uncover the dispatch of aesculapian equipment, this publication says.

According to Woodward, Putin told Trump: "I don't privation you to archer anybody due to the fact that radical volition get huffy astatine you, not me."

Woodward besides cites an unnamed Trump adjutant successful the publication who indicated the Republican emblem bearer whitethorn person spoken to Putin up to 7 times since leaving the White House successful 2021.

The Post, reporting Woodward's account, said that astatine 1 constituent successful aboriginal 2024, Trump ordered an adjutant retired of his bureau successful his Mar-a-Lago residence successful Florida truthful helium could clasp a backstage telephone with Putin.

War is acceptable for work connected Oct. 15, conscionable 3 weeks earlier a captious U.S. predetermination successful which Trump is locked successful a choky contention against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.

While Harris does marque appearances successful the book, she is seen successful a supporting relation to Biden "and hardly determining overseas argumentation herself," the Post reported.

Woodward has chronicled American presidencies for 50 years, and this is his 4th publication since Trump's upset triumph successful 2016. He began his statesmanlike reportages with Richard Nixon, who was undone by the 1970s Watergate ungraded exposed by Woodward and Post workfellow Carl Bernstein.

Woodward concluded that Trump's interactions, elaborate successful the book, with an authoritarian president astatine warfare with a U.S. state marque him much unfit to beryllium president than Nixon.

"Trump was the astir reckless and impulsive president successful American past and is demonstrating the precise aforesaid quality arsenic a statesmanlike campaigner successful 2024," Woodward wrote.

The Trump run blasted the publication arsenic "trash" and "made up stories."

They are "the enactment of a genuinely demented and deranged antheral who suffers from a debilitating lawsuit of Trump Derangement Syndrome," run communications manager Steven Cheung told AFP.

According to CNN, which obtained a pre-release publication copy, Woodward repeatedly quotes Biden dropping F bombs arsenic helium discusses his idiosyncratic and governmental challenges.

Biden called Putin "the epitome of evil," blasted Netanyahu arsenic a "liar" and said helium "should ne'er person picked" Merrick Garland arsenic U.S. lawyer general.

According to the book, during an April telephone telephone Biden turned testy with Netanyahu.

"What's your strategy, man?" Biden asked the Israeli leader, according to Woodward.

"We person to spell into Rafah," Netanyahu said, referring to a metropolis successful confederate Gaza.

"Bibi, you've got nary strategy," Biden responded.