By Dan Donahue, NBC Nightly News |
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Good Wednesday afternoon. Tonight our Pete Williams has a network exclusive interview with Attorney General William Barr, airing at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT. |
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Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Trump admitted downplaying threat of coronavirus, new Bob Woodward book says |
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As the pandemic took hold of the U.S. earlier this year, President Trump said he knew the coronavirus was “deadly stuff” and highly contagious, but purposely downplayed the extent of the threat, according Bob Woodward’s new book “Rage,” set to be released next week. |
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On Feb. 7, a week after instituting the China travel ban, Trump told Woodward that the virus “goes through the air” and that it was “more deadly” than the flu, according to recordings of their conversations posted online by the Washington Post. |
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The same day, Trump publicly expressed his belief on Twitter that Chinese President Xi Jinping would be “successful” in containing the virus, “especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone.” |
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Despite privately acknowledging the danger from the coronavirus, Trump repeatedly played it down in public comments over the next month: |
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Feb. 23: “We have it very much under control in this country,” Feb. 25: “I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away.”Feb. 26: “And again, when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.Feb. 27: "It's going to disappear. One day it's like a miracle, it will disappear,” |
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On March 13, Trump declared the coronavirus a national emergency. Six days later, in a March 19 interview with Woodward, Trump made this admission, according to the recording reported by the Washington Post. |
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“I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.” |
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Our Geoff Bennett asked White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany this afternoon whether the president’s conflicting statements about the virus, in public and in private, betrayed the trust of Americans. |
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“The president has always been clear-eyed with the American people. He was always clear-eyed about the lives we could lose,” McEnany said. |
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White House responds to Bob Woodward tape of Trump speaking about coronavirus |
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Biden responds, says Trump “lied to the American people” |
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Joe Biden reacted to the revelations in Woodward’s book in Michigan, where he returned to the campaign trail today. |
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Biden said Trump “lied to the American people. He knowingly and willingly lied about the threat it posed to the country for months. He had the information, he know how dangerous it was.” |
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“And while this deadly disease ripped through our nation, he failed to do his job on purpose,” Biden continued. |
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Biden traveled to Michigan today to deliver a message on the economy, in a critical battleground state that President Trump narrowly won in 2016. |
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“His failure has not only cost lives,” Biden said of Trump’s pandemic response, “it’s sent our economy into a tailspin.” |
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Biden and Trump are set to face off in less than three weeks, at the first 2020 presidential debate on Sept. 29, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. |
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Trump has not held any mock debate sessions, and does not plan to have any formal practice rounds, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions. |
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Battle against California’s explosive wildfires intensifies |
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The last 24 hours have been among the most dangerous on the front lines of the battle against the wildfires burning out of control in the West. |
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The massive Creek Fire has now grown to more than 163,000 acres, and is zero percent contained. Hundreds of campers, trapped by the flames in the Sierra National Forrest, have been airlifted out. |
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Near Big Sur, more than a dozen firefighters were overrun by flames and forced to deploy fire shelters as their last line of defense. |
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More than 42,000 people have evacuated from their homes in California. Parts of the West Coast woke up to orange skies today, as thick smoke blocked out the sun. |
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View Cal Fire’s updated incident map here. |
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Multiple fires are also burning further north in Oregon, where flames have destroyed multiple homes and businesses. |
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In Washington state, a wildfire devastated the town of Malden, destroying the fire station, post office, city hall and more. |
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Miguel Almaguer is in the fire zone tonight. |
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Vaccine trial in limbo after “potentially unexplained illness” |
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Tom Costello will have more reporting tonight on the clinical trials for the University of Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine that were suddenly brought to a halt, after a volunteer reportedly developed a spinal cord injury. |
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Drug maker AstraZeneca, which is developing the vaccine with Oxford, said in a statement, “This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials.” |
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It is not clear whether the illness is related to the trial. |
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Dr. Francis Collins, the National Institutes of Health director, said the pause was “not at all unprecedented,” in testimony before the Senate today. |
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The announcement on Tuesday came after AstraZeneca, and eight other drugmakers, pledged not to rush a vaccine, as they face increasing political pressure to quickly approve one. |
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Other COVID-19 headlines: |
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The U.S. coronavirus death toll has surpassed 191,000, with more than 6.3 million cases nationwide. View our latest map here.New York City will finally allow indoor dining to resume at 25 percent capacity on Sept. 30, more than six months after restaurants were ordered to close down. The Senate is set to vote tomorrow on a scaled-down coronavirus relief bill, but Sen. Mitch McConnell did not say whether he has the 51 votes the GOP is seeking.The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota last month may be linked to more than 250,000 estimated COVID cases, a new study found.Mortgage demand has surged a staggering 40 percent over a year ago, amid the pandemic.Peloton is slashing the cost of its most popular spin bike by $350, as it capitalizes on the rise in people exercising at home. |
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Cuomo announces NYC indoor dining to resume at 25 percent September 30 |
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Justice Department moves to defend Trump in defamation lawsuit |
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In a highly unusual move, the Justice Department is seeking to intervene in a defamation against President Trump, brought by an author who has accused him of sexual assault. |
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The DOJ, which is supposed to act as independent federal law enforcement agency, claimed it has the authority to take over Trump’s defense from his private attorneys. |
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The agency argued that Trump was “acting within the scope of his office or employment,” as president when he denied the accusation leveled by writer E. Jean Carroll. |
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Last year, Carroll said Trump sexually assaulted her at a Bergdorf Goodman store in New York City in the mid-1990s. |
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Trump has denied the allegation, saying that Carroll is “not my type” and that the incident “never happened.” |
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Is it appropriate for the DOJ to intervene in this case? Pete Williams will ask Attorney General William Barr that question in his network exclusive interview tonight. |
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Barr defends Justice Department move to back Trump in E. Jean Carroll suit |
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Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app. |
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