Responding to the recordings, The White House said Mr Trump's only motivation in downplaying danger had been to reassure the public.
US President Donald Trump admits he tried to minimise the lethal threat of the coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic in audio recordings released Wednesday from interviews with veteran US journalist Bob Woodward.
"I wanted to always play it down," Mr Trump said in an interview with Woodward on 19 March, according to a CNN preview of the book "Rage," due to be published 15 September.
"I still like playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic," he said in the conversation with Woodward, which was recorded.
By contrast, in earlier interviews with Woodward, he made clear he understood well that the virus was "deadly stuff" - far more dangerous than the ordinary flu.
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