Transcripts For CSPAN2 Bob Woodward Rage 20240712

This evening to be familiar with how the virtual format works you can still ask a question if you would like and to do so click on the q a icon at the bottom of your screen. To be reporting in washington for half a century to share two Pulitzer Prizes and second in 2000 very with the coverage of the terrorist attacks in his books have made big news they were National Bestsellers we are accustomed to behind the scenes of highlevel meetings with the critical of us policy decisions and at this time not once or twice but 17 times while the book was being written with a remarkable series into the president s thinking at key moments the conversation this morning is another prizewinning journalist chief washington correspondent for the new yorker magazine where she has been for 25 years also the author of the authoritative books to open understanding of important topics with money behind the rise of the radical right in the war on terror with commentary with the iran contra affair. Taken away. This is great to be with you i just want to start that there has been so much news so i wonder in your work on trump. Guide any insight with Mitch Mcconnell and if they have the same interest when it comes to the vacancy with Ruth Bader Ginsburg staff. You have a piece in the new yorker to remind everyone what it said in the idea and mcconnell is to make sure he retains control from the senate. I think and he surprises the fine print of the rules of the senate but people think of nothing matters more to harm and him than staying majority leader. But i imagine that if trump really wants another justice, that is his third on the court were not at the extent of losing his majority in the senate. So what you think is going on . How do they work together. And releasing some audio and transcripts i think we will release them in an hour but trump and mcconnell really work in tandem. And quite frankly i found in my reporting abysmal and then it goes to the issue that is very much a style and those that would criticize him to say this is unfair and this is a powerplay that they could pull off successfully. And the reality of the Senate Majority Mitch Mcconnell controls these things that he had won the election in the last four years and you can see that and argued that and is hoping to duplicate that. You have a conversation with Lindsey Graham and the chief Justice John Roberts talk a lot. And Lindsey Graham is a chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the senate right now. That is a typical position in all of us on and all of this but and the program seems to express he is worried and Justice Roberts also they are both way the court has become so split and politicized and partisan. They dont want it to become more so. Does that suggest so that thinking will have any bearing on who trump x . As the cubanamerican from the florida the most political sense in the world serving in the Supreme Court of florida for many years now she is on the federal Appeals Court down there. It is and obvious political pack for trump but you know in the trump world you learn not to stake much on your predictions because he will continually surprise us but as everyone says that trump and mcconnell are looking at this old boy we have and opportunity to the appeals to the evangelicals and to the breaking that trump was and the tradition not trying to ram through the Supreme Court and the Election Year in the last 50 days of the campaign so i think there is a feeling of political muscle that they will exercise. You dont see that as potential for backlash i know the democrats are talking about if they take the Senate Majority than they would also turn and try to pack the court or Something Like that quick. Packing the court has a bad odor because they have tried that because we dont like the way the court has been in all of American History and now to add more justices because we dont like what they are doing. That is in the beautiful one in the practical sense but if you listen to some of the democrats talk about this and just say this is absolutely awful, and fair, what you think. I think mcconnell and have a spend as much time as you have on trump but Assembly World today, the hypocrisy and shamelessness are a management style for him they will not care that it looks unfair. The only thing i can imagine is it might make a difference there are a couple of senate races with a republican incumbents declaring she will not vote for ginsburg before the election and there are a few others that can be day see play them on the spot between the trump base which they cannot afford to lose in the moderates and the women they may not want to lose. But i cannot count those for mcconnell they might get romney or murkowski and commented on a the fourth. Certainly but the idea of hypocrisy. I will not hurt their feelings that is the wrong word to play hardball. So this will be a moment that you can see and trump is sitting back there with this virus that has never now killed 200,000 people and i found in my reporting or my discussion with trump and this all goes back if i can take you and in the oval office in the century or maybe long time january 28 of this year with the National Security advisor Robert Obrien said to President Trump the virus not maybe, will be the National Biggest Security Threat to the presidency and then laid out the details of those sources as an old wall street journal reporter a very talented one nominated for lab surprise for what he did in china for seven years covering and then he laid out and said this virus is airborn airborne, people who dont show symptoms can spread it but most importantly this will not just be a little problem very much like the 1918 spanish will pandemic that killed 675,000 people. They went through the details and the president ten days later told me about this and i thought he was talking about china but it wasnt for three months until the january meeting which i start my book with its own rules like somebody coming to Franklin Roosevelt one week before the harbor to say the japanese obamas and sitting on and not doing anything. It is shocking and the presidency and i remember talking to trump about this in the first interview of december of last year in the oval office and the question was what is the job of the president . He said it is to protect the people. And he failed to protect the people. What he conducted in february is say look to my have the authoritative warning here and wash your hands keep social distance and in a crowded room with people for the extended period of time. That kind of radio behavior are the models that say tens of thousands of lives could have been saved by acting in februar february. The story the way out here is shocking and egregious. Why do you think trump acted this way. What is going on in his head that he purposely downplayed it to avoid a panic but is that it be so concerned about panic, the he spent an awful lot of time trumping up the fear like race riots he doesnt seem concerned about that panic and that is chief of staff meadows was concerned with the stock market dropping. How to account for his failure on this issue as of today with 200,000 people . One year ago to say that would happen next you think i had gone off the rails. It is a shocking number so on march 19 to interview on one of our many talks over nine hours and i said why have you acted this way about the virus . Everyone knew those airborne and we knew we were in a crisis at that point there were 30000 new cases per day. Are you doing . He said i like to downplay it. I want people to panic and then to be very direct with you were to reflect the failure to understand that people will be governed the people at the truth i know you can be told the worst with the bad news that is the american tradition if you lay on the line to say this is difficult but for almost 50 years trying to understand the president it is the action that is a failure to lead in any form to understand his responsibility as we now. Some of the experts said no the end of february its okay to go to the gym in the mall in the movies. Maybe it will be different but i think right now it will be fine and people said the Public Officials and Health Professionals that trump down but you know this so well. There are two strains warners National Security and the other. Is the actors coming in for the task force meetings