# Bob Woodward book on Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 9, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217 "2020-09-09T22:23:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/41 "2020-09-10T20:32:31Z")
Today Trump said Woodward should have told people about this in March so something could be done about the virus. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/42 "2020-09-10T20:40:35Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Today Trump said Woodward should have told people about this in March so something could be done about the virus. I didn’t write this, but one of the responses to Trump’s tweet was as follows: “So, now you are admitting that if America knew that you were misleading them, lives could have been saved, but it’s not your fault. It’s Bob Woodward’s fault for not telling the public soon enough? WOW! You are really bad at this!” ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/43 "2020-09-10T20:53:30Z")
What, seriously? That’s some serious abdication of duty. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/44 "2020-09-10T21:03:00Z")
Another great response to Trump’s abdication of responsibility here: **Trump: Bob Woodward Could’ve Saved Countless Lives If He’d Reported My Lies Sooner** > **[Trump: Bob Woodward Could’ve Saved Countless Lives If He’d Reported My Lies...](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/donald-trump-bob-woodward-criticism)** > > “Woodward had my quotes for many months.” ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/45 "2020-09-10T21:04:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > And yet according to you it’s perfectly reasonable for Bob Woodward to keep this information secret for personal gain. I was assuming he was holding back until it could have the biggest electoral impact. If he released this info in April, it would be forgotten by now. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/46 "2020-09-12T00:06:29Z")
Jim Mattis was so worried about a nuclear attack on N. Korea so he slept in gym clothes and had an alarm light put in his bathroom. > **[Here’s one of the most disturbing details from Woodward’s Trump book that...](https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/heres-one-of-the-most-disturbing-details-from-woodwards-trump-book-that-people-are-missing/)** > > The coronavirus bombshells in Bob Woodward’s new book, “Rage,” due out September 15, are so explosive that they have somewhat overshadowed other important parts of the book — for example, the veteran journalist/author’s reporting on President Donald... ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/47 "2020-09-12T19:11:50Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > It truly is amazing how dumb Trump is. He caught lightning in a bottle once, and made people think he is some kind of political genius, but he’s actually really bad at politics. It amazes me how someone who is so incompetent can fail up his whole life. I know his supporters will say ‘then he isn’t incompetent’. I mean yeah, Trump is amazing at marketing. But he is incompetent and an idiot. His dad bailed him out until he died, and then Trump made a living marketing himself as something he isn’t (a competent businessman). Then he became president. The entire concept of meritocracy falls apart after seeing how well Trump has done at life (financially and professionally speaking) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/48 "2020-09-12T19:22:02Z")
Also I disagree and think Trump is actually good at politics. He built a coalition that squeaked him past the finish line in a race everyone expected him to lose. The problem is he won by appealing to people’s worst instincts (their racism, nativism, sexism, religious bigotry) and bringing out the worst in people, as well as trying to cheat every chance he got. Plus he duped some people into thinking he’d protect the working class and he governed like a typical republican plutocrat. Its still shocking that someone so profoundly stupid achieved so much and has done so much damage. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/49 "2020-09-13T04:36:19Z")
He is good at appealing to the lowest common denominator in the GOP primary. In 2016, any normal Republican nominee was going to beat Hillary handily. Trump was the only one who could possibly blow it, and he came very close to doing so. He’s still constantly running for the GOP primary, even in the general election campaign. That’s not what you do if you’re good at politics. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/50 "2020-09-13T13:53:19Z")
I think Woodward should have reported that Trump said what he did, let Trump deny it and then produced the tapes. Not that there aren’t many other examples of Trump denying things that that he is on tape saying. I’ve said it before but the fact that Trump was ever elected in the first place and still has a very good chance of being re-elected says more about the American public that it does about him. If Democrats fail to turn out in record numbers, shame on them. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/51 "2020-09-13T14:04:50Z")
I’ve had the feeling for some time that Trump and his family are basically walking around with large sacks and stuffing as much shit as they can possibly fit in them before they are booted from public office. And they’ve surrounded themselves with like-minded people. That’s one reason why, except for a select few (McMaster, Mattis, Fauci, and a few others), I am sympathetic to hardly anyone who deliberately served in this administration and enabled his shit. They had to know what kind of scam artist they were working for and what the consequences of his thievery would be to the American people. I respect people like McMaster and Mattis because they refused to stupid little Yes men, and I really admire Fauci because he openly contradicts the President - and his pathetic weakling sycophants in HHS, FDA, and CDC who lick his boots. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/52 "2020-09-13T14:08:29Z")
Your average con artist may not be able to read books but they can read people and rob them blind, which is how I would categorize Trump. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/53 "2020-09-16T20:47:21Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I think Woodward should have reported that Trump said what he did, let Trump deny it and then produced the tapes. Yeah, I was thinking the same, that this would have been a nice little “gotcha”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/54 "2020-09-16T20:54:28Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > > [@MikeF](#): > > > > I think Woodward should have reported that Trump said what he did, let Trump deny it and then produced the tapes. > > Yeah, I was thinking the same, that this would have been a nice little “gotcha”. Remember, that doesn’t work on Trump supporters. The only thing that matters is whatever Trump says at any given time; anything he’s said prior to that is “fake news”. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/55 "2020-09-16T21:24:42Z")
It’s not about the diehards, but the college-educated suburbanites in a few key swing states who don’t like Democrats and have never voted for any before, but are increasingly becoming uncomfortable with the cringe-inducing Know-Nothing cant of Trump and the GOP. Our job is to keep the spotlight on that stuff to a degree that they can’t ignore. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/56 "2020-09-16T22:55:07Z")
If those college-educated suburbanites haven’t figured it out yet, nothing is going to work. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/57 "2020-09-17T00:56:00Z")
I just don’t think that’s true. These are people who would happily vote for any “normal” Republican. They like low taxes, minimal regulation of business, etc. And they don’t trust Democrats. But Trump makes them so uneasy that they are torn. They will eagerly flock back to the GOP in 2024 if Rubio or someone like that is the nominee. But right now, this year, they are “gettable”. Which doesn’t mean it’s easy: they are torn, and will require just the right tactics, and lots of persistence, to bring them over. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/58 "2020-09-17T18:48:14Z")
Let’s assume for the sake of argument that these college educated Republicans aren’t wearing news blinders and have some exposure to media outside the right-wing news bubble and facebook feed. Unless they have suffered some sort of negative impact during the Trump administration - I mean besides embarrassment - why would they vote for Biden? Their taxes are lower, their living standards have not suffered for the most part, their 401K has done pretty well, COVID hasn’t had a greater impact on them than anyone else. In what way has Trump’s presidency hurt them if the abnormality has been limited to people they didn’t like in the first place? Without resorting to appeals to fundamental values and morals, I can’t think of an argument I would use to convince them to change their vote, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/59 "2020-09-17T19:02:17Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Without resorting to appeals to fundamental values and morals, I can’t think of an argument I would use to convince them to change their vote, to be honest. Thing is, most voters don’t approach it as a “rational self interest” game. Most ovters _are_ looking at things like national pride/embarrassment, morals, values, and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217/60 "2020-09-17T19:05:33Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Thing is, most voters don’t approach it as a “rational self interest” game. Most ovters _are_ looking at things like national pride/embarrassment, morals, values, and so forth. Is that true? Presumably these same college educated voters had the good sense to be embarrassed by Trump’s antics when he first came down the escalator. They voted for him then. Why would they not vote for him now? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-woodward-book-on-trump/920217.md?page=4)