New book revealed:

Trump secretly sent corona tests to Putin

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at their meeting in Helsinki in 2018

(Bild: AFP)

After his time in office, Donald Trump apparently phoned Russia's president seven times and sent him coronavirus tests. A new book reveals the former US president's contact with Vladimir Putin.

New findings by US journalist Bob Woodward about Donald Trump's contacts with Moscow: as US President, the Republican secretly sent corona tests to Moscow despite the shortage at home and since leaving office he has apparently held several talks with the Kremlin leader. This emerges from Woodward's new book "War", excerpts of which were published by the "Washington Post" on Tuesday.

According to the book, Trump continues to maintain personal contacts with Putin despite the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for two and a half years, and despite his candidacy for the presidential election on November 5. When the coronavirus pandemic was raging in 2020, Trump sent a shipment of coronavirus tests to the Russian president.

US journalist Bob Woodward

(Bild: AP)

Putin accepted, but advised Trump to keep the delivery secret: "I don't want you to tell anyone, because then people will be angry with you, not with me," Putin told Trump, according to the book.

I don't want you to tell anybody, because then people will be mad at you, not at me.

Putin zu Trump (Auszug aus dem Buch Buch „War“

Woodward quotes an unnamed Trump aide as saying that Trump has spoken to Putin up to seven times since the end of his term in 2021. In early 2024, Trump asked an employee at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to leave his office so he could have a private phone call with Putin.

"War" will be published in the USA on October 15, three weeks before the election, in which former President Trump will run for the Republican Party and Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic Party on November 5.

"War"

• The new book "War ("Krige") by US journalist Bob Woodward will be published in the USA on October 15, three weeks before the election.
• One of the most explosive details in the book is that Donald Trump - when he was still in office at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 - is said to have sent Vladimir Putin the Covid tests for his personal use, which were initially difficult to obtain.
• Woodward quotes an unnamed Trump aide as saying that Trump spoke to Putin up to seven timeseven after the end of his term in 2021. In early 2024, Trump asked an employee at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to leave his office so that he could have a private phone call with Putin.
• In his book, Woodward also deals with incumbent Joe Biden and his difficult relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Watergate affair made Woodward famous
Woodward has been reporting on various US presidents for 50 years. In the 1970s, he and his "Washington Post" colleague Carl Bernstein became world-famous for their research into the Watergate wiretapping affair surrounding President Richard Nixon. Since then, he has repeatedly published investigative books about US presidents, including several about Trump.

Trump was the most reckless and impulsive president in American history and shows the same character as a presidential candidate in 2024.

US-Journalist Bob Woodward

Author sharply criticizes Trump
Woodward concludes that the right-wing populist is less suitable for the presidency than Nixon was at the time, given his contacts with an authoritarian Russian leader who is waging war against US ally Ukraine. "Trump was the most reckless and impulsive president in American history and shows the same character as a presidential candidate in 2024," writes the investigative journalist.

Trump team about book: "trash"
The Trump team described the book as "trash" and spoke of "made-up stories". Woodward is a "crazy and disturbed man", said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.

Biden's difficult relationship with Netanyahu
In his book, Woodward also deals with incumbent Biden and his difficult relationship with Netanyahu. Biden called the Israeli prime minister a "liar", reports Woodward, who also quotes from a telephone conversation between the two politicians in April: "What's your strategy, man?" Biden asked the Israeli head of government. "We have to go into Rafah," he said, referring to the city in the south of the Gaza Strip. Biden then said: "Bibi, you have no strategy."

White House deputy press secretary Emilie Simons said that Biden and Netanyahu had known each other for a very long time. "They have a very sincere and direct relationship," Simon said. She would not comment on specific anecdotes.