World News: OnPolitics: You guessed it. Woodward tapes.

Wednesday, September 9

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Smith Reynolds Airport, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, in Winston-Salem, N.C.

OnPolitics: Trump was recorded admitting to downplaying virus

"Rage" is the second book Bob Woodward has written about the president, but for this one, he interviewed Trump 18 times.

President Donald Trump told journalist Bob Woodward that he knew the coronavirus was more deadly and contagious than the flu while he continued to downplay its dangers to the public, according to Woodward's new book "Rage."

"I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic," Trump told Woodward on March 19 in excerpts of audio interviews obtained by CNN.

In interviews with Woodward between December 2019 and July 2020, Trump discussed the threat of the coronavirus with a level of detail that he had not yet acknowledged to the public, noting Feb. 7 that it was "deadly stuff," and "more deadly than your - even your strenuous flus."

While Trump discussed the threat of the virus to Woodward, he continued to assure the public that it was "under control" in the U.S. and would "go away."

The Woodward book has more

An admission by President Donald Trump that he was "playing" down the threat posed by COVID-19. A new secretive nuclear program. Copies of dozens of never-before-seen letters between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Here are some of the most extraordinary details included in the book, according to CNN and The Post, which obtained early copies. The book is set to hit shelves next week.

What else is going on?

•	Army chief says combat is 'last resort' after Trump says military leaders seek to make defense contractors 'happy'
•	Senate report finds 'significant' prescription drug delivery delays under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy
•	US cuts troop presence in Iraq as military expresses confidence in Iraqi security forces
•	Joe Biden unveils plan to tax companies that move jobs overseas
•	Norwegian lawmaker nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
•	McEnany requests fact check after Obama coronavirus vaccine comment goes viral
•	Justice Department asked to defend Trump in rape accuser E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit