Explaining his decision to release tapes of his 20 interviews with Donald Trump, renowned journalist Bob Woodward said he finally recognized the “unprecedented danger” the former president posed to American democracy.
His three books on the Trump presidency, Woodward said, “didn’t go far enough.”
The veteran reporter will release an audio book, The Trump Tapes, on Tuesday. On Sunday he published excerpts in an essay for The Washington Post, the newspaper for which he and Carl Bernstein reported on the Watergate scandal that brought down Richard Nixon’s presidency in 1974.
Woodward, 79, has recorded every president since. His three Trump books – Fear, Rage and Peril, the last co-written with Robert Costa – were instant bestsellers.
But, by Woodward’s own admission, these books exercised reporting caution when it came to making judgments, even as they chronicled four chaotic years, culminating in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Woodward’s decision to judge now was not met with universal praise.
Oliver Willis, a writer for the progressive American Independent, pointed to recent criticism of reporters like The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman for allegedly believing important coverage of Trump books. willis said Woodward’s statement, “Guys, I kind of have a feeling Trump might be a fascist” was a “perfect example of ivory tower journalism failing to inform the public.”
Seth Abramson, author of three books on Trump, said: “I don’t know how it happened, but the Trump biographers who knew for sure from their research in 2016 and 2017 were outbid 10 to 1 by Bob Woodward, although he’s only now coming to that conclusion.” A media or publishing failure? Or both?”
In the Post, Woodward explained his change of heart.
“There is no turning back for American politics,” he wrote. “Trump was and still is a massive force and an indelible presence with the most powerful political machine in the country. He has the largest group of followers, loyalists, and fundraisers, even surpassing that of the President [Joe] biden
“In 2020, I ended Rage by saying, ‘Taking the whole of his performance as president, I can only come to one conclusion: Trump is the wrong man for the job.’
“Two years later, I realize I didn’t go far enough. Trump is an unprecedented threat. If you listen to him on the range of issues ranging from foreign policy to [coronavirus] to racial injustice, it’s clear he didn’t know what to do. Trump was overwhelmed with the job.”
In June 2020, Woodward said he asked Trump if he had assistance in writing a law and order speech amid national protests for racial justice.
Trump said: “I get people, they come up with ideas. But the ideas are mine, Bob. Do you want to know something? Everything is mine.”
Woodward wrote: “The almost whispering and intimate voice is so insightful. I believe that is Trump’s view of the presidency. everything belongs to me The presidency is mine. It’s still mine. The only opinion that matters is mine.
“The Trump Tapes leave no doubt that after four years in the presidency, Trump has learned where the levers of power are, and full control means installing staunch loyalists in key positions in the Cabinet and in the White House.
“Records now show that Trump has led – and continues to lead – a seditious conspiracy to overthrow the 2020 election in what is, in effect, an attempt to destroy democracy.
“Trump is a reminder of how easy it is to break things you don’t understand – democracy and the presidency.”
Leftist writers were not uniformly skeptical of Woodward’s motives. At the New Republic, Michael Tomasky said he hopes the ribbons could sway voters in the upcoming midterm elections, where a Republican party firmly in Trump’s grip is poised to take the House and maybe the Senate.
Tomasky wrote: “I hope against hope that the media frenzy that will accompany this release will bring Trump back into focus at this election.” There may be nuclear bombs buried in the bands that were held back from the selective leaks.
“One wonders if Woodward will hold some new quotes by Tuesday.”
Tomasky added, “Let’s hope so, because what’s been noticed over the last few weeks is the extent to which Trump has disappeared from the election talks.”
Republicans who want House and Senate seats, governor’s mansions and important state posts will hope things stay that way.
Trump faces legal jeopardy on numerous fronts, from investigations into the attack on the Capitol and attempts to overturn the 2020 election, to a lawsuit over his retention of White House records, criminal and civil lawsuits over his business dealings, and a lawsuit for defamation by the Writer E Jean Carroll, who says Trump raped her.
The former president denies wrongdoing and continues to conduct a third run at the White House. On Sunday, Woodward told CBS he regrets not pressuring Trump to leave the White House if he lost in 2020.
On the accompanying tape, Woodward says: “Everyone says Trump will stay in the White House if it’s controversial. Did you think …”
Trump interjects, “Well, I’m not — I don’t even want to comment on that, Bob. I don’t want to comment on that now. Hey Bob, I got all these people, I’ll talk to you later tonight!”
Woodward said, “It’s the only time he hasn’t had a comment. And that, of course, was months before his loss. And I slapped myself a bit: Why didn’t I take that a little further?