The end of March 2020 found humanity unprepared for what the Covid-19 pandemic meant. It was an episode of extreme suffering, tensions, and harsh measures taken by governments in the face of a threat that no one understood, didn’t know its severity, while thousands of people were getting sick and dying.
Suddenly, protective masks, hand sanitizers, and toilet paper disappeared from stores, and cleaning products were scarce.
When the first anti-Covid tests were launched on the market, they were also very expensive, and travels, meetings, and work activities at some workplaces depended on widespread testing.
The demand far exceeded production capabilities, and government representatives fought to have access to the highly sought-after medical products.
There was an increase in social tensions, abuses, and corruption, with the history of those complicated days yet to be fully written.
"Please, don't tell anyone that you sent it to me," Putin said in a conversation with Donald Trump from that period, shortly after the American president approved a shipment of Covid-19 tests for the Russian president.
A secret deal with Covid tests
While the Kremlin bombarded the world with false information about Covid-19 and the pandemic, seeing a medical crisis as an opportunity to amplify the medical crisis in Western states, Vladimir Putin was blocked and isolated due to the virus, unable to even contact his closest collaborators and advisors because he didn't have a minimum number of tests to find out if people in his circle were infected or not, if their health was threatened or not.
Trump responded that he didn't care if it was known or not, but Putin told him that it was better for everyone if the transaction remained secret because it could harm Donald Trump as well.
Indeed, on several occasions, the former US president publicly urged Americans to test less so that hospitals wouldn't be overwhelmed due to the lack of tests.
The above disclosure was made by the renowned American journalist Bob Woodward, 81 years old, and appears in his new book titled "War." The book will be available starting October 15.
Additionally, Kremlin representatives, through a press statement, confirmed that in the early days of the pandemic, Vladimir Putin received anti-Covid tests from the White House.
In the same volume, the journalist who contributed to the resignation of President Richard Nixon following a series of investigations conducted together with Carl Bernstein, and published by The Washington Post in 1972, claims that after leaving the White House, Donald Trump continued to stay in touch with Vladimir Putin.
Conversations with Putin
In the only televised debate between the Republican Party candidate and Kamala Harris, the Democratic representative, the former inadvertently refers to meeting with Vladimir Putin after leaving the White House in 2021.
"And actually, when I saw Putin after I left, unfortunately, I left because our country was in hell...," said Donald Trump on September 10, during the debate, but then refused to provide further explanations.
Bob Woodward writes in his book that the former president spoke with Putin over the phone from his private residence at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, at least seven times, according to statements made by individuals close to Trump.
And regarding Ukraine, Trump's influence was strong, even launched from his home at Mar-a-Lago. The former president's resistance to funding Kiev's war effort created a deadlock in Republican support in the House of Representatives.
In the spring, House Speaker Mike Johnson managed to persuade Trump to soften his decision, according to Bob Woodward, not by showing him that support for Ukraine's cause was just, but by convincing him that the aid package would contribute to the Republican conference's electoral chances and thus personally benefit him in the period leading up to the November elections.
Isaac Stanley-Becker, Washington Post, presentation of journalist Bob Woodward's book
The New York Times, which obtained a copy of the book before it hit the shelves, published an article stating that it's not uncommon for former presidents to discuss with world leaders, some of whom are still in office. However, in the case of two countries in military conflict, such a discussion requires the approval of the US State Department, equivalent to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Too Close Relationship Between Trump and Putin
The revelations show a much closer relationship between Trump and Putin than the public had known.
Thus, it's easier to understand why Trump vehemently opposed providing $60 billion in funding for Kiev, why he claimed that Ukraine doesn't exist as a state, and boasted that once he returns to the White House, he will make peace within 24 hours, in reality forcing Zelensky to accept Putin's conditions.
These revelations are unlikely to be decisive in the US election race, but they complete the picture of an extremely close relationship between Putin and Trump, while much of the international community, led by the US, considers the Russian president an aggressor guilty of war crimes.
Although these revelations won't play a decisive role in the tough US election competition, they do have an impact since Donald Trump's campaign chiefs have repeatedly denied the information, claiming they are "inventions."
The Most Racist Head of State
Bob Woodward, in his book, also talks about the complicated relationship between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, at the beginning of the Gaza war.
Bibi, what the hell? You know that Israel's perception around the world is increasingly that of a rogue state, a rogue actor.
Joe Biden, phone conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu about the Gaza war, Bob Woodward's book
The American president, in several discussions with the Jerusalem leader, told him that he had no plan regarding Gaza, that he was acting chaotically.
Joe Biden expressed great concern about the possibility of the war in the area escalating and the high number of civilian casualties.
What's your strategy, man? Bibi, you have no strategy!
Joe Biden, phone conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu about the Gaza war, Bob Woodward's book
Additionally, the American journalist describes Kamala Harris's situation at the White House during the period when the current president was still in the electoral race.
Woodward states that she didn't have access to important decisions, playing more of a decorative role in the architecture of the American administration, a situation that changed drastically after Biden withdrew from the race.
"Putin is one of the most racist state leaders now," said Avril Haynes, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), according to Bob Woodward's book.
It remains to be seen what impact the new volume by the American journalist will have once it reaches the hands of readers, just three weeks before the elections, in an extremely tight electoral race.