He claims he downplayed it because he didn’t want “people” to panic. He means the stock market, because he doesn’t give a shit about “people”:
Trump admitted he knew weeks before the first confirmed US coronavirus death that the virus was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious and “more deadly than even your strenuous flus,” and that he repeatedly played it down publicly. #TrumpKnew https://t.co/3fXdDR56nz
— Robert Cooper 🌊 (@RobertCooper58) September 9, 2020
Former director of national intelligence Dan Coats could not shake his “deep suspicions” that Vladimir Putin “had something” on Trump, seeing “no other explanation” for the president’s behavior, according to Bob Woodward’s book. https://t.co/McK2uHn0jE
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 9, 2020
Joe Biden accused President Trump of “a life-and-death betrayal of the American people” hours after journalist Bob Woodward revealed ahead of the publication of his new book, “Rage,” that Trump had concealed the true threat posed by coronavirus. https://t.co/lhxcWltoh6 pic.twitter.com/OSDQorkHNB
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) September 9, 2020

Dr. Fauci said yesterday on FOX that Trump did a good job responding to the coronavirus and “did not publicly distort the truth.”
Now we all know just who Fauci is and who he is not.
Fauci is a self-serving, political hack; not a stand-up guy.