Former President Donald Trump is disputing a report that he has had “as many as seven” phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he left the White House, and that, back when he was in office, Trump secretly sent Putin a COVID-19 testing kit for his personal use.
Journalist Bob Woodward wrote about the alleged interactions between Trump and Putin in his soon-to-be released book, titled “War,” according to the Washington Post and CNN.
Woodward reportedly cited an anonymous Trump aide as the source for his reporting regarding Trump maintaining contact with Putin after leaving the White House.
In the book, Woodward reportedly wrote that Trump sent a COVID-19 testing kit to Putin at a point in the pandemic when tests were in short supply — and that, after Putin received the kit, he told Trump, “I don’t want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me.”
Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl that neither happened.
“That’s false,” Trump said of Woodward’s report that he had spoken with Putin after leaving office, and that he had earlier sent Putin a COVID test.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in Milwaukee, Oct. 1, 2024.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
“He’s a storyteller. A bad one. And he’s lost his marbles,” Trump said of Woodward.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung categorically denied Woodward’s accounts, calling them “made-up stories” and stressing that Trump did not provide any “access” to Woodward for the book.
“None of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Cheung said in a statement.
“President Trump gave him absolutely no access for this trash book,” Cheung said.
Former President Donald Trump has once again found himself at the center of controversy, this time over allegations that he secretly sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a COVID-19 testing kit during his time in office. The claims, which have been circulating on social media and in some news outlets, have been vehemently denied by Trump and his team.
The allegations first surfaced in a report from an anonymous source, who claimed that Trump had personally ordered the testing kit to be sent to Putin as a gesture of goodwill. The source also alleged that Trump had instructed his staff to keep the shipment under wraps, fearing backlash from the public and political opponents.
In response to the allegations, Trump took to Twitter to deny any involvement in sending a COVID-19 testing kit to Putin. He called the claims “fake news” and accused his critics of spreading lies to tarnish his reputation. Trump’s spokesperson also released a statement refuting the allegations, stating that they were “completely false and baseless.”
Despite the denials from Trump and his team, the allegations have sparked a wave of speculation and debate online. Some believe that Trump’s close relationship with Putin and his history of controversial decisions make the claims plausible, while others dismiss them as nothing more than a conspiracy theory.
The controversy surrounding the alleged COVID-19 testing kit shipment highlights the ongoing scrutiny and criticism that Trump faces even after leaving office. His presidency was marked by numerous scandals and controversies, and it seems that even out of office, he continues to be a lightning rod for controversy.
As the debate over the allegations rages on, it remains to be seen whether any concrete evidence will emerge to either confirm or debunk the claims. In the meantime, Trump’s denial of involvement in sending a COVID-19 testing kit to Putin stands firm, leaving the public to draw their own conclusions about the truth behind the allegations.
