10 things you need to know today: September 11, 2020

Trump says downplaying the coronavirus showed "strength as a leader," Republicans' "skinny" coronavirus relief bill fails, and more

Trump in Michigan
(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

1. Trump says downplaying coronavirus threat showed 'calm,' 'strength'

President Trump on Thursday pushed back at Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward's revelation that Trump admitted to downplaying the pandemic threat in February, arguing that Woodward would have come forward with the news sooner if he thought Trump was endangering public safety. Woodward taped Trump in February and March for his forthcoming book, Rage. Trump said in the on-the-record interviews that he knew the coronavirus was "deadly stuff," but he minimized the threat to prevent a panic. "We had to show calm," Trump said, adding that he displayed "strength as a leader." The offensive came as Trump faced a backlash, with his Democratic rival in the November election, Joe Biden, leading the charge. "He waved a white flag!" Biden said. "He walked away. He didn't do a damn thing."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.