The Kremlin confirms that Trump sent Russia Covid-19 tests, after the former president denied Bob Woodward’s claim

CNN
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Russia has confirmed that Donald Trump sent the Kremlin a Covid-19 test sample in the early days of the pandemic, after revelations in veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book raised more questions about the former US president’s relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that the Trump administration “sent us several samples of test kits,” broadly supporting Woodward’s claim. His intervention comes after Trump denied the allegations, telling ABC News they were “false.”

Legendary correspondent Woodward wrote in “The War” that Trump “secretly sent Putin a batch of Covid testing machines from Abbott Point of Care for his personal use.”

“Please don’t tell anyone you sent this to me,” Putin told Trump, according to Woodward. “I don’t care,” Trump replied. “fine.”

“No, no,” Putin said. “I don’t want you to tell anyone, because people will be mad at you, not me. They don’t care about me.”

Peskov would not confirm whether or not those tests were specifically intended for Putin’s use, Woodward wrote.

“At that time, the epidemic had begun, and the situation was very difficult for all countries,” the Kremlin press secretary said.

He continued: “Of course, in the beginning, all countries tried to exchange aid shipments with each other.” “At that time, we sent a shipment of ventilators to the United States, and the Americans sent us several samples of the test kits, as those were practically unique items. “Many countries were doing the same thing.”

The Kremlin’s response appears to contradict Trump’s denial of Woodward’s allegations.

“He’s a storyteller. Bad idea. He’s lost his marbles,” Trump told ABC News of Woodward on Tuesday. In a statement, Trump spokesman Stephen Cheung said Trump gave Woodward “no right whatsoever” to see the book. “None of these made-up stories written by Bob Woodward are true,” he said.

Citing a Trump aide, Woodward also reported that there had been “maybe as many as seven” calls between Trump and Putin since Trump left the White House in 2021. Peskov denied the allegations, saying: “That’s not true; that’s not true.” It didn’t happen. Trump also denied the allegations to ABC News.

The hectic first weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic led to a diplomatic overture for Putin; The Trump White House was then criticized for purchasing medical supplies from Moscow, a move that experts described as a propaganda win for the Kremlin.

The Trump administration also spent $200 million to send thousands of ventilators around the world, starting weeks ago After the former president described America as “the king of ventilators.” But without any specific way to locate them, the Government Accountability Office found In a report. Russia was among the countries that received ventilators.

Woodward’s allegations once again shed light on Trump’s relationship with Putin, weeks before the US presidential election.

It was quickly seized upon by Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris, who said in an interview with Howard Stern: “People were dying by the hundreds. Everyone was scrambling to get these (testing) kits…and this guy who was president of the United States was sending them to Russia? To a murderous dictator for his personal use?

“You’ve been manipulated,” Harris said of Trump.

For his part, Trump continued to speak fondly of his relationship with Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 made him a pariah among Western leaders.

“I got along well with him. I hope I get along well with him again,” Trump said during an interview on Channel X with billionaire Elon Musk. Trump added that getting along well with powerful world leaders “is a good thing.”