In a Saturday piece for Salon , columnist Lucian K. Truscott IV argued that Bob Woodward’s interviews from his forthcoming book, Rage , might have exposed U.S. President Donald Trump’s “fatal flaw.” In particular, the writer noted the reports that the president was briefed by national security adviser Robert O’Brien on Jan. 28 about the danger and severity of the coronavirus.
Instead of telling Americans and working to unite them, Truscott noted that the president chose instead to play down the severity of the virus. The writer argued that this choice reveals Trump’s weakness as a lack of confidence in himself and his ability to influence others without money.
“He doesn’t believe in himself, so he has never believed in his ability to influence others,” the columnist wrote.
“Donald Trump had no understanding of what I call the exercise of power in the absence of money. This is power at its most absolute, the power to motivate soldiers to risk their lives in combat, the power to motivate doctors and nurses to risk their lives treating patients with deadly communicable diseases, the power that motivates someone to give his or her life for another.”
Truscott claimed that Trump was not equipped to convince people to support the many preventative measures necessary to curb the spread of coronavirus, including lengthy lockdowns, closed businesses, and cancellation of public entertainment. The writer argued that this purported lack of resolve exposed something Trump has never been able to grasp.
“You can’t force someone to do things they don’t want to do,” he wrote.
“You have to get them to want it.”
A previous report from The Hill spoke to former aides of the president who claimed that Trump suffers from a deep insecurity that is hidden underneath his public bravado. According to the publication, these sources claimed that Trump is often frustrated by the lack of respect and validation that he has purportedly been seeking to gain for the majority of his adult life.
As reported by Al Jazeera , Trump addressed the Woodward interview and took aim at the journalist, who he suggested should have shared the information if it was so crucial to American safety. Despite this pushback, Trump still faced widespread criticism for his downplaying of the COVID-19 pandemic while he understood the danger it posed to the country.
Trump’s comments and Woodward’s decision to release them to the public may affect the U.S. leader’s chances in November. As The Inquisitr reported, former Republican Rep. David Jolly suggested that the revelations are likely to cause him to lose against Joe Biden at the ballot box.
