# How will the White House spin Woodward quoting Trump saying Covid is "deadly"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 9, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219 "2020-09-09T23:02:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/1 "2020-09-09T23:02:09Z")
One fascinating aspect of the shit-show we are living through is how Trump and cronies manage to counter what seem at first to be impossibly damning things Trump has said - from “grab 'em by the pussy” to “people who serve in the military are losers and suckers.” Strategies typically include: - Deny that the damning remark was ever made. - Claim it was said in jest. - Project - turn the accusation of hypocrisy/racism/whatever back on the accuser. - Claim the words were misinterpreted or taken out of context. Given the stark nature of the audiotapes, none of those approaches seem likely to work. But we can be confident that Trump et al will fight back. Other than the likelihood that Trump will tweet insults about Bob Woodward, what do you think the official response will be? How will spokespeople spin this? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/2 "2020-09-09T23:05:57Z")
His base won’t care. They’ll either just dismiss it, or they won’t even hear about it. Next week we’ll be talking about something else. ---
**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 9, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/3 "2020-09-09T23:07:44Z")
They’re already saying that he was trying to protect Murica by putting a brave face on it. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/4 "2020-09-09T23:09:35Z")
@madmonk28 - I agree - this is unlikely to move the needle much among hard-core Trumpists - but there still has to be some kind of official statement on the matter. I am curious as to WHAT they will say, not simply how effective or ineffective the response will be. ---
**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 9, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/5 "2020-09-09T23:10:15Z")
“I never said that.” “It was the deep state.” “I was being sarcastic.” Or, he’ll say the same thing he said about the Russian bounties – basically nothing and then something even worse will come out and the press will move on. This is going to overshadow what he said about military people, for example. It’s a firehose of lies, scandal, and bullshit, and the press doesn’t really know how to deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/6 "2020-09-09T23:12:07Z")
He’ll just deny it. I know there are recordings, but he’ll just deny it and so will his staff. His base will go along. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/7 "2020-09-09T23:13:43Z")
Trump had a news conference today where he reassured everyone that big daddy was protecting all his little sheep who are prone to panic. I guess that bullshit flies with Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/8 "2020-09-09T23:14:31Z")
However, he is on tape as saying it, and it is clear even to total dimwits that he wasn’t being sarcastic. I left out “turn attention away from the scandal by creating a distraction.” That would probably work here. Saying “Trump was trying to protect America by putting a brave face on things” may be as good as it gets. It’s pretty weak, though. I wonder if they can dream up anything better? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/9 "2020-09-09T23:22:27Z")
They don’t need to come up with anything better, it works. ---
**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 9, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/10 "2020-09-09T23:24:32Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > However, he is on tape as saying it, and it is clear even to total dimwits that he wasn’t being sarcastic. They claimed he was joking after he suggested injecting cleaners and shining flashlights up your butt, and that was on tape, too. Lie and move on to the next thousand gallons in the fire hose of shit. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/11 "2020-09-09T23:31:15Z")
Exactly and his base won’t care. It’s a cult. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/12 "2020-09-09T23:34:27Z")
Lying to stop a panic is (plausibly) reasonable. Whether that was his actual motivation, at the time, or not, his description of his thought-line is probably the most reasonable of anything he has ever claimed, as President. That his tool, to ward off panic, was to lie about everything is pretty questionable. If the President is calm, composed, and can explain (honestly) what is what, then people will follow suit. This isn’t the sort of territory where you need to go through complex maneuvering and deceit. That said, he’s lying about this as well. If he had genuinely been thinking about the pandemic, behind the scenes, then the follow-up to, “Stop the planes coming in from China.” Would have been, “What countries have had the largest number of Chinese visitors?” And “How can we start building up medical equipment?” The former never happened, and he didn’t get to the second question until three months later. He also wasn’t wearing a mask until recently, so he seems to have convinced himself that it was all a hoax, until Herman Cain died. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/13 "2020-09-09T23:37:15Z")
They’re already saying that Trump just didn’t want people to panic, so it’s nothingburger. It’s like they think we’re stupid or something. Like they think we’ve never experienced a crisis before and witnessed what good leadership looks like. What they’re telling us is that Trump is simply not savvy enough to speak truthfully to the American people. They spent the entire campaign telling us that he “tells it like it is”. But he couldn’t do it when it mattered the most. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/14 "2020-09-10T00:05:00Z")
The same guy who spent 2018 saying “OH MY GOD!!! THE CARAVAN OF HISPANICS IS COMING TO TAKE YOUR JOBS AND RAPE ALL THE WHITE WIMMINFOLK!” is now the guy who doesn’t want to start a panic. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/15 "2020-09-10T00:06:37Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It’s like they think we’re stupid or something. - I think that’s been proven countless times. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/16 "2020-09-10T00:08:01Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > They’re already saying that Trump just didn’t want people to panic, so it’s nothingburger. > > It’s like they think we’re stupid or something. Absolutely. They assume we won’t recall that Trump has worked hard to _create_ panic: about “caravans;” about “MS-13;” about ‘socialists and anarchists taking over;’ and just last week, about ‘plane-loads of antifa thugs’ flying around and brandishing weapons. Creating panic is Trump’s signature move. Of course the smoking gun would have been Trump being explicit about where he wanted to avoid panic: on Wall Street. Because Trump is convinced that so long as the stock market is doing well, his re-election is in the bag. Yes, no matter how many Americans are dead of a virus that could have been contained at the levels it has been contained in countries with smart, efficient leadership. As for distraction: Trump & Co offered up, today, a list of "Supreme Court Nominees, " with list-inhabitant Tom Cotton providing secondary Distraction with his tweet about getting rid of Roe v. Wade: > Can’t say they didn’t try. But from the news media I’ve been consuming today, it doesn’t look as though the distraction is working. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/17 "2020-09-10T00:14:00Z")
“He failed to do his job - on purpose!” - Joe Biden This is part of Biden’s response to this, and I hope he’s on this like a dog on a bone. Biden should take a page out of Trump’s book and say this every time someone points a camera at him. It should be the, “Lock her up,” of 2020. > ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/18 "2020-09-10T00:15:03Z")
Fox News is all in on this. Of course he was protecting the country. Look at what happened with toilet paper. Can you imagine how the public would have reacted if Trump had said “OMG! There’s a pandemic coming. We’re all going to die”. And it was totally different when other presidents managed to be honest with people about catastrophes. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/19 "2020-09-10T00:16:48Z")
It’s kinda funny that people still think anything he says or does is going to matter. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219/20 "2020-09-10T00:17:06Z")
He’ll use his standard defense and call it fake news. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-white-house-spin-woodward-quoting-trump-saying-covid-is-deadly/920219.md?page=2)