WASHINGTON (AP) — donald trump I have had seven personal phone calls with Vladimir Putin Since leaving office, Bob Woodward has reported in his new book “War” that he secretly sent a COVID-19 test machine to the Russian president at the height of the pandemic.
The revelations were made in the famous Watergate correspondent’s latest book, which also details President Joe Biden’s grievances with the Israeli prime minister. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Assortment of burner phones. The Associated Press has obtained an early copy of the book, which is scheduled for release next week.
President Trump denied the report in an interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl. “He’s a storyteller. A bad one. And he’s lost his marbles,” President Trump said of Woodward.
Trump previously spoke about Woodward’s 2021 book “Rage.” Mr. Trump later filed a lawsuit over the matter, claiming that Mr. Woodward did not have permission to publicly release the recorded interviews for the book. The publisher and Woodward denied his claims.
The new book includes:
Mr. Trump has held numerous telephone conversations with Mr. Putin since the end of his term in the White House.
Woodward reported that Trump asked his aides to leave the Oval Office at his Florida resort. Mar-a-LagoTherefore, the former president will be able to have a personal phone call with President Putin in early 2024. An aide, who Woodward did not name, said there have been multiple phone calls between Trump and Putin since Trump left office, perhaps as many as seven. This book does not go into detail about what they discussed.
Jason Miller, a senior Trump adviser and longtime aide, told Woodward that he had not heard that Trump had any phone calls with Putin and said, “I disagree with that.” But Miller also said, “I’m sure they’ll know how to get in touch with each other,” the book said.
President Trump’s communications director, Stephen Chan, said none of the stories in Woodward’s book are true. In a statement Tuesday, he called them “the work of a truly insane and deranged man suffering from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
The relationship between President Trump and President Putin has been under scrutiny since the 2016 presidential campaign. At that time, I remember calling on Russia to find and release missing emails that President Putin had deleted. Hillary Clintonhis Democratic opponent. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you find those 30,000 missing emails,” he said.
U.S. intelligence agencies later determined that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to support President Trump, as a result of a special counsel investigation. robert muller Found There’s no conspiracy Between the Trump team and Russia. In 2018, after a face-to-face meeting with President Putin in Helsinki, President Trump publicly questioned the findings.
President Trump has criticized U.S. support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression in recent years. he has Ukraine should have made concessions, he said. He has previously touted his good relationship with President Vladimir Putin and described the Russian leader’s invasion of Ukraine as “pretty smart.”
President Trump sent coronavirus testing machine to President Putin for personal use
Woodward reports that President Trump sent a COVID-19 test machine to President Putin for personal use when the virus began to spread in 2020.
According to the book, Putin told Trump not to tell anyone because people would be furious with him, but Trump said he didn’t care if anyone found out. Trump ultimately agreed not to tell anyone.
What you need to know about the 2024 election
The book does not specify when the machines were sent, but says it was at a time when the virus was rapidly spreading across Russia. The Associated Press and other outlets previously reported that in May 2020, the Trump administration Sent Provided ventilators and other equipment to several countries, including Russia.
Vice President Kamala Harris accused President Trump of giving machines to “murderous dictators” at a time when “everyone was scrambling to get tested” in an interview with radio host Howard Stern on Tuesday. did.
“This man who wants to be president again is secretly helping his enemy while hundreds of Americans die every day,” Democratic presidential candidate Harris said.
Biden highlighted the report during a visit to Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
“You know what happened today?” Biden said at a fundraiser for Sen. Bob Casey. “So he called his best friend, President Putin, no joke, and confirmed that he had been tested. He had been tested.”
Biden’s anger at Netanyahu boils over in private
The book also details the complicated relationship between Biden and Netanyahu and the private moments when the president was fed up with Prime Minister Netanyahu. israel-hamas war.
Biden’s “frustration and distrust” with Netanyahu “exploded” this spring, Woodward writes. According to the book, the president went on a personal profanity-laced rant, calling him a “son of a bitch” and a “bad guy.” Mr. Biden said Mr. Woodward’s account gave him the impression that Mr. Netanyahu was “regularly lying.” Prime Minister Netanyahu “kept saying he was going to kill every last member of Hamas.” “Biden has threatened publicly and privately to withhold shipments of U.S. offensive weapons and has told them that is not possible,” Woodward wrote.
Biden and Netanyahu have known each other for years, but their relationship is not known to be close or overly friendly. Biden said last week. I didn’t know if Israeli leaders were holding up a Middle East peace deal to influence the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election.
“Our commitment to the state of Israel is ironclad,” White House press secretary Emily Simmons told reporters Tuesday when asked about the book’s coverage.
Asked for details, Simons said he would not comment on any anecdotes that may come out in the press. She added of Biden and Netanyahu: “They are in a long-term relationship. They have a very honest and direct relationship and I will not comment on those specific anecdotes.”
Biden criticizes President Obama’s response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea
The book is based on Biden’s response late last year to President Barack Obama’s response to Putin’s earlier invasion of Ukraine, when Russia occupied Crimea and parts of Donbas in 2014, when Biden was serving as Democratic vice president. details the criticisms of.
Woodward wrote that Biden told a close friend in December that “2014 was a disaster” and criticized Putin’s inaction in Ukraine. “Mr. Barak never took Mr. Putin seriously.”
Biden became angry during a conversation with a friend, saying in 2014 that “Putin shouldn’t have just walked in there” and that the United States “did nothing.”
Biden regrets choosing Garland as attorney general
Mr. Woodward reported that Mr. Biden was secretly furious with Attorney General Merrick Garland. appoint a special advisor To investigate Biden’s son Hunter on tax and gun charges.
Mr. Woodward said Mr. Biden told his colleagues that “Mr. Garland should not have been chosen.” The journalist did not reveal the colleague’s name.
Hunter Biden is Convicted in June He has been charged with federal firearms charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in December in federal court in Delaware. he pleaded guilty He also faces federal tax charges in California, and is expected to be sentenced in December.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
Graham says going to Mar-a-Lago is “a little like going to North Korea.”
The South Carolina senator is one of President Trump’s longtime allies. lindsay grahamThe book says the 2020 election was rigged by a cult of personality, and that President Trump’s continued efforts include the former president’s detention at Mar-a-Lago and his aides and advisers “constantly fueling this narrative.” denounced the false claims.
Graham was at Mar-a-Lago with Trump over the weekend after Russia invaded Ukraine, which the senator described as “a little bit like going to North Korea.” “Every time Mr. Trump comes on, everyone stands up and applauds,” Graham added.
Regarding politics, Woodward wrote that Graham’s advice was part of what convinced Trump to run for president again.
In March, during one of his many Middle East visits since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, Mr. Graham suggested to Woodward that Mr. Graham call Mr. Trump. He said he was meeting with the Saudi crown prince at the time. Prince Mohammed “removed one labeled ‘TRUMP 45’ from a bag containing approximately 50 burner phones.” On another trip, the Saudi leader pulled out another burner phone, Woodward wrote. jake sullivan When the men called Biden’s national security adviser.
___
Price reported from New York. Associated Press writers Hillel Italy in New York, Eric Tucker and Alana Durkin Richer in Washington, and Aamer Madhani on Air Force One contributed to this report.
