Bob Woodward’s 'Lie'

 Vincent J. Curtis

10 Sept 20

In his new book Rage Bob Woodward quotes President Donald Trump as saying that he was downplaying the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic.  This statement was immediately pounced on by the Washington media and the Democrats (but if repeat myself) as proof that Trump lied to the American people about the virus.  Mr. Woodward has so far not corrected or qualified this perception.

What is a lie?  A lie is a deliberate mis-statement of the truth with the intention of deceiving the listener.  A lie is a kind of statement, for starters.  None of the people accusing Trump of lying have offered a statement that is the lie they are talking about.  If you ask, what did Trump say that was a lie, they can only say that playing down the dangers constitutes a lie, but they offer no statement of Trump’s that constitutes a lie of the type they claim.

There is a reason for this.  ‘Playing down the dangers’ is a statement of opinion.  “I don’t thinks that’s dangerous.”  “It’s not as dangerous as you think,” These are opinions, and it is the nature of an opinion that it be right or wrong.  Since the opinion is being offered about the future, the opinion cannot be a lie because the facts haven’t happened yet.  The truth is not yet known.  And because the truth is not yet known is why the opinion can be right or wrong.

As for Trump’s statements in public, Dr. Anthony Fauci is on record as saying that Trump did not say anything in public that he did not also say in private to Dr. Fauci and the pandemic response team.  Trump did not distort or misrepresent in public anything that was said to him in private in Dr. Fauci’s presence.  If Trump is of the opinion that America can persevere and overcome the pandemic, this opinion is not something Dr. Fauci can refute with scientific evidence.  And if Trump’s desire to accentuate the positive was contrary to Dr. Fauci’s best judgement, Fauci undoubtedly would and could say so.

It is Leadership 101 for the leader to ensure that his followers don’t panic in the face of adversity.  Nothing constructive comes of panic.  “Keep calm and carry on” is not a lie; it is a determination, and this is the determination Trump wanted to instill in America.  His response team concurred, and acted accordingly.  All of this is to the chagrin of the MSM and the Democrats.

They would have wanted Trump to induce panic in the population, all the better to beat him in November.  But he didn’t induce panic.  And so his playing down of the dangers of something that was unknown and whose dangers lay in the future is, now that it’s mostly over, portrayed by critics as a lie which could and did lead to the deaths of thousands.  This latter implication is itself an opinion; it is unprovable, and by the critics’ standards, itself a lie.

In his speech tonight in Freeland, Michigan, Trump made reference to Winston Churchill during the Blitz sustaining English morale.  Was Churchill lying to the British people, that if they endured they would ultimately win?  The future was unknown, and Britain was alone. Churchill based his belief in his own strategic analysis and the opinion of his senior military advisers that they could and should carry on the war, and that “there are good and reasonable hopes for final victory.”  The danger Britain faced in 1940 was far more dire and had far less prospect of ultimate success than America facing the pandemic in February, 2020.  Churchill did not lie, and, from the perspective of September, 2020, neither did Trump.

Trump’s critics offer no statement they can hold up as a lie; they can only offer statements of opinion about the future that they disagree with.  It is a leader’s job to lead his followers well, and keeping his followers calm in the face of adversity is an example of good leadership.  It is only because Trump led well during the pandemic that has the MSM and the Democrats angry; they would have preferred he led poorly so as to beat him in November.  But Trump led well, and so the media accuse Trump of lying when he led well.

Woodward has no use for Trump and thinks he is unfit for office.  Disregarding whom Woodward has ever though was fit for office, let’s see how long it takes for Woodward to correct the false impression that Trump lied when he properly downplayed the dangers of the virus with the aim of pulling America through as unscathed as possible.

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