Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin “maybe as many as seven times “since he left office in 2021, reports legendary journalist Bob Woodward in his forthcoming book “War”, in which he also claims that Trump, while president, sent Putin Covid-19 tests for his personal use at the height of the pandemic, citing a CNN report, on Tuesday, the 8th of October, writes Politico.
The reports, which were categorically denied by the Trump campaign, quickly reignited accusations of an overly cosy relationship between the two leaders, which Trump has tried to deny for years.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung strongly denied the reports written by Bob Woodward, best known for his work at the Washington Post during the Watergate scandal, calling the veteran journalist’s work “made-up stories” and calling Woodward “a truly demented and deranged man”.
Cheung said that Woodward’s book “either belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore or used as toilet tissue.”
Trump’s aide Jason Miller also said he was not aware of any alleged phone calls mentioned in the book.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday also denied reports that former US President Donald Trump had contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin after leaving office.
Vice President Kamala Harris swiftly criticised Trump in an interview with Howard Stern on Tuesday, saying that Trump’s actions were “the latest stark example of what Trump is”, stressing that while Americans were fighting over the Covid-19 tests, Trump sent them to a “murderous dictator for his personal use”.
Woodward also reported that US President Joe Biden
blamed Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine on former President Barack Obama’s negligent approach to Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
“They fucked up in 2014,” Biden said to a friend, according to Woodward. “That’s why we’re here. We fucked everything up. Barack never took Putin seriously.”
Biden had particularly harsh words for the Russian President and the war he launched in Ukraine.
“Fucking Putin,” Biden told advisers in the Oval Office, according to the book. “Putin is evil. We are dealing with evil incarnate.”
According to CNN, the book details Biden’s conversations with national security officials ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. After Biden was informed that Russia was planning an invasion, he replied: “That would be crazy.”
“Jesus Christ!” Biden said. “Now I have to deal with Russia devouring Ukraine?”
The book also describes correspondence between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including Biden accusing Netanyahu of having “no strategy” for the war in Gaza. Woodward detailed the moment when Biden called Netanyahu a “fucking bad guy”.
Bob Woodward’s book, which reveals tensions during Biden’s presidency, also includes details of Biden regretting his choice of Attorney General Merrick Garland and privately calling Trump “that fucking asshole”. Biden’s tendency to use foul language in private is not new and has been reported before.
It also mentions Senator Lindsey Graham’s comparison of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence to North Korea, where “everyone stands up and applauds every time Trump arrives”.