Trump follows in Biden’s footsteps by visiting Michigan

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump followed in the footsteps of his Democratic opponent Joe Biden on Thursday by traveling to critical Michigan for re-election in November.

Before hitting the road, however, Mr. Trump had to deal with some issues in Washington, where everyone is talking about the president’s admission, dating back to February, that COVID-19 is a serious illness, which can be transmitted by air – a completely different message than the one he delivered publicly.

The president called a surprise press conference on Thursday to discuss his administration’s handling of the pandemic, but was quickly overtaken by questions about the revelations from journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, “Rage.”

The book reports on several taped interviews in which Mr. Trump acknowledges the seriousness of the novel coronavirus, including the fact that it can be five times more deadly than seasonal flu and spread through the air. In public, however, he insisted the outbreak was under control and would likely go away in the spring.

The president denied having lied to the Americans, insisting that he wanted to avoid a panic movement.

“There was no lie there,” he argued.

“It’s still a serious problem. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to jump in the air and start saying, “People are going to die, people are going to die” – no, I’m not going to do that. “

He even suggested that Mr Woodward, a prominent former Washington Post reporter, had agreed it was no secret in February that the virus was serious, adding that he reportedly disclosed the contents of their conversation at that time. – there if he was not convinced.

The reporter admitted that he withheld this information, but insisted that he could not confirm the details until May. He says he focused on working on his book for publication ahead of the November presidential election.

Mr. Trump’s visit to Michigan – a former Democratic stronghold he narrowly won in 2016 – comes a day after Joe Biden’s.

The Democratic candidate has promised Detroit to adopt “Buy American” type measures in order to keep manufacturing jobs in the United States.

Mr Biden is planning tough tax penalties for companies that make products destined for the United States outside the country and a crackdown on those that use offshoring to avoid paying taxes at home.

He also intends to “broaden and tighten” the “Buy American” provisions and establish a “Made in America” ​​office in the White House to review and limit exceptions to the rules – exceptions upon which many depend. Canadian companies.

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