Washington —
Donald Trump has had as many as seven private phone calls with Vladimir Putin since leaving office and secretly sent the Russian president COVID-19 testing machines during the height of the pandemic, Bob Woodward reported in his new book, “War.”
The revelations were made in the famous Watergate reporter’s latest book, which also details President Joe Biden’s frustrations with the number of burner phones owned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Associated Press obtained an advance copy of the book, which goes on sale next week.
Trump denied the claims in “War” in an interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl. “He’s a storyteller. A bad one. And he’s lost his mind,” Trump said of Woodward.
Trump had previously spoken to Woodward for the journalist’s 2021 book, “Rage.” Trump sued over it, alleging that Woodward was never allowed to release recordings of his interviews. The publisher and Woodward denied his accusations.
Here’s more information about the new book:
Trump had multiple calls with Putin since the end of his term
Woodward reports that Trump asked an aide to leave his office at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, so he could have a private call with Putin in early 2024. The aide, whom Woodward is not naming, said he has There have been multiple calls between Trump and Putin since Trump left office, perhaps as many as seven, according to the book, although it does not detail what they discussed.
Trump’s senior adviser and longtime aide, Jason Miller, told Woodward that he had not heard that Trump was having calls with Putin and indicated, “I would be opposed to that.” But Miller also said, according to the book, “I’m sure they would know how to contact each other.”
Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, said that none of the stories in Woodward’s books are true. In a statement Tuesday, he called them “the work of a truly demented and deranged man suffering from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Trump’s relationship with Putin has come under scrutiny since his 2016 presidential campaign, when he asked Russia to find and make public missing emails deleted by Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you can find the 30,000 missing emails,” he said.
US intelligence agencies later determined that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump, although an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller found no conspiracy between Trump’s team and Russia. In 2018, Trump publicly questioned that finding after an in-person meeting with Putin in Helsinki.
In recent years, Trump has criticized US support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.
Trump sent COVID-19 testing machines to Putin for his personal use
Woodward reports that Trump sent Putin COVID-19 testing machines for his personal use when the virus began to spread in 2020.
Putin told Trump not to tell anyone because people would get mad at him for it, but Trump indicated he didn’t care, according to the book. Trump ended up agreeing to remain silent.
The book does not specify when the machines were shipped, but describes it during the time when the virus spread rapidly through Russia. The Associated Press and other agencies previously reported that the Trump administration in May 2020 shipped ventilators and other equipment to several countries, including Russia.
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, in an interview Tuesday with radio host Howard Stern, accused Trump of turning over the machines to a “murderous dictator” at a time when “everyone was rushing” to get the tests.
Biden highlighted the report during a stop in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Biden’s anger toward Netanyahu has boiled over privately
The book also details Biden’s complicated relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as private moments when the president has grown fed up with him over the war between Israel and Hamas.
Biden’s “frustrations and distrust” of Netanyahu “exploded” last spring, Woodward writes. The president privately unleashed an obscenity-laden tirade, calling him a “son of a b—” and a “bad guy,” according to the book. Biden said he felt, according to Woodward’s account, that Netanyahu “had been lying to him on a regular basis.”
Netanyahu “kept saying he was going to kill every last member of Hamas.” Woodward wrote: “Biden had told him that was impossible, threatening both privately and publicly to withhold shipments of offensive weapons from the United States.”
Biden and Netanyahu have known each other for a long time, although it is unknown whether their relationship is close or too friendly. Last week, Biden said he did not know whether the Israeli leader was delaying a Middle East peace deal to influence the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election.
When asked about the book’s reporting, White House spokeswoman Emilie Simons told reporters Tuesday that “the commitment we have to the state of Israel is ironclad” and declined to comment.
Simons added of Biden and Netanyahu: “They have a long-term relationship. They have a very honest and direct relationship, and I have no comment on those specific anecdotes.”
Biden criticized Obama’s management of the Russian invasion of Crimea
The book details Biden’s criticism late last year of President Barack Obama’s handling of Putin’s previous invasion of Ukraine, when Russia seized Crimea and a section of the Donbas in 2014, at a time when Biden was serving as vice president of the Democrat.
“They got it wrong in 2014,” Woodward wrote that Biden told a close friend in December, blaming a lack of action for Putin’s actions in Ukraine. “Barack never took Putin seriously.”
Biden was angry while speaking to the friend, saying they “should never have just let Putin walk in there” in 2014 and that the United States “did nothing.”
Biden regrets choosing Garland as attorney general
Woodward reports that Biden was privately furious with Attorney General Merrick Garland for appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Biden’s son, Hunter, in a tax and gun lawsuit.
“I never should have picked Garland,” Biden told an associate, according to Woodward. The journalist did not name the member of the president’s team.
Hunter Biden was convicted in June on federal weapons charges and faces sentencing in federal court in Delaware in December. He pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in California and will also be sentenced in that case in December.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
Graham says going to Mar-a-Lago is “a little like going to North Korea”
One of Trump’s oldest allies, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, blamed Trump’s continued false claims that the 2020 election was rigged on a cult of personality, in which the former president’s installation in Mar -a-Lago and the circle of aides and advisors “constantly feed this narrative,” according to the book.
The weekend after Russia invaded Ukraine, Graham was with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, which the senator characterized as “a little bit like going to North Korea.” Graham added that “everyone stands up and applauds every time Trump walks in.”
In politics, Woodward wrote that Graham’s advice was part of what persuaded Trump to run for president again.
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