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The Kremlin has confirmed that during his presidency, Donald Trump sent COVID-19 testing devices to Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2020, as reported in journalist Bob Woodward’s new book.
Let’s bring you up to speed: Bob Woodward, best known for uncovering the Watergate scandal, just released a book that claimed Donald Trump had as many as seven phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin after leaving office in 2021. Woodward also alleges that during Trump’s presidency, he secretly sent COVID-19 testing machines to Putin for personal use during the pandemic at Putin’s request. Despite these claims by Woodward, Trump’s campaign denied them, calling the allegations “made up stories.”

What the Kremlin is saying: When reporters asked if Trump sent testing kits to Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “As for the tests, when the pandemic began, countries did not have enough equipment. And many countries then exchanged such gestures of support and sent each other shipments of various equipment they had.” He continued, “But about the phone calls — it’s not true.”
Previous claims from the Trump campaign: In a statement yesterday, Trump Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, “None of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Criticism from Vice President Harris: In an interview on the Howard Stern Show yesterday, Vice President Harris criticized Trump, saying, “Everybody was scrambling to get these kits, these COVID test kits, and this guy, who’s president of the United States, is sending them to Russia, this murderous dictator, for his personal use?”