⁍ Critics have long noted how Trump’s public comments failed to sync up with those of public health officials.

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⁍ The White House has tried to answer that criticism by pointing to selected comments from U.S. health experts.

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⁍ ‘I categorically deny the idea that there wasn’t a strong consensus of public health experts at the time saying this was a very serious problem,’ said one expert.

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– In his new book, Bob Woodward accuses President Trump of deliberately lying to the American people about the severity of the SARS-like virus that killed hundreds in China earlier this year, the Washington Post reports. According to the AP, Trump called SARS “deadly stuff” in a private call with Woodward in early February. Three days later, he told a rally in New Hampshire, “It’s going to be fine.” In his book, Woodward accuses Trump of playing down the severity of SARS in order to avoid creating a panic and causing a financial crisis. In the book, Trump says he told Woodward he “wanted to always play it down” and “still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic.” The White House has been trying to defend Trump against accusations that he lied to the American people about the severity of SARS. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told the AP earlier this month that US health experts were “preparing as if this is a pandemic” at the time Trump called it “deadly stuff.” The White House has also pointed to comments from top US infectious disease experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who told USA Today in February that the risk of SARS in the US is “minuscule.” But in March, Trump appointed Mike Pence to lead a task force on SARS. “I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward. “I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic.”