A new book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward reveals explosive claims about former United States President Donald Trump's actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and his ongoing connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

According to Woodward, Trump secretly sent COVID-19 test kits to Putin, despite a shortage in the US, and maintained multiple conversations with the Russian leader after leaving office, even as the US faced strained relations with Russia due to its war against Ukraine.

Woodward's book, titled War, also delves into President Joe Biden's challenges in foreign policy, including his frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over failed attempts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

Excerpts from the book published by The Washington Post highlight Trump's personal relationship with Putin, which persisted despite Russia's aggressive actions and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

In 2020, as the pandemic raged, Trump allegedly sent coveted COVID-19 tests to Moscow. Putin reportedly advised Trump not to publicize the aid, stating, "I don't want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me," according to Woodward. 

Trump is said to have continued communicating with Putin multiple times since leaving office, with one instance involving a private call from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

At a campaign event in Pennsylvania, Biden criticized Trump's handling of the pandemic, calling it a "disgrace" and referencing Trump's decision to provide Putin with test kits during a critical shortage in the US. Biden further remarked on the toll of the pandemic, pointing to over a million American deaths.

The book, set to be released on October 15, just weeks before a pivotal US election, also touches on Vice President Kamala Harris’s role in the Biden administration, where she is depicted as supporting Biden without shaping foreign policy herself. 

Harris, responding to the book's claims, remarked that Trump had been "played" during the pandemic, sending critical resources to Putin while Americans were in dire need.

Woodward, who has reported on US presidents since Richard Nixon, asserts that Trump's continued interactions with Putin -- an authoritarian leader at war with a US ally -- make him more unfit for the presidency than even Nixon. He labels Trump "the most reckless and impulsive president in American history" and suggests that the former president's current behavior mirrors his past presidency.

In response to the book, Trump's campaign dismissed it as a collection of "made-up stories," with spokesman Steven Cheung calling Woodward "a truly demented and deranged man" suffering from "Trump Derangement Syndrome."

Woodward's War is his fourth book about Trump since his election victory in 2016, continuing his long tradition of presidential reportage, which began with his groundbreaking work on the Watergate scandal.

AFP