Breaking news headlines, the other day:
“Trump admitted downplaying coronavirus dangers in early days of pandemic, new Bob Woodward book says,” according to CNBC.
There were similar headlines in other media, as well as this headline about the book in The Hill:
“President Trump bragged about a supposedly secret nuclear weapons system in an interview with Bob Woodward, according to excerpts from the veteran journalist’s new book.”
What was the president thinking, as he was being interviewed by Mr. Woodward?
I’ve been interviewed by journalists. Sometimes, I suppose, you might start thinking there’s good chemistry going on. You’re feeling good rapport. You’re feeling, maybe, you can get a little chummy?
Who knows, for sure what was running through the Commander in Chief’s mind. But what if he was feeling some chumminess?
Bob Woodward’s book — Rage — is based, in part, on a number of on-the-record interview… more than a dozen, at least, according to news media. Notice those words: on-the-record! They mean precisely that.
During my PR career, I was on-the-record with journalists, just about all the time. I knew a number of journalists quite well. Some contacted me frequently, over the years. Did I feel chummy? Well, let’s put it this way… I felt respect.
So, what’s happening in the aftermath of this breaking news? For the most part, it’s been the usual, with POTUS generating even more controversy. He’s continuing to flout his own administration’s pandemic protocols. There’s continuing news about his recent campaign rally in North Carolina. Mr. Trump wasn’t wearing a face mask. And, apparently, following his lead, most people in his audience weren’t wearing masks, either.
And they appeared to be packed pretty tightly together.
President Trump knew COVID-19 was “deadly stuff,” according to the Woodward book. He called it a “strenuous flu,” an unusual adjective — ‘strenuous’ — since the coronavirus can creep, without much strenuous effort, up one’s nasal passages.
Unless, of course, one is wearing a face mask. As a deterrent?
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.