WOOD: A global pandemic would be a crisis for any president,
but it would take Donald Trump to turn coronavirus
into not just a scandal,
but one of the biggest scandals of all time.
You can call it a germ, you can call it a flu,
you can call it a virus,
you know, you can call it many different names--
I'm not sure anybody even knows what it is.
WOOD: Trump was working on screwing up the pandemic
before there was even a pandemic to screw up.
NEWSMAN: The Trump administration disbanding
the National Security Council's
pandemic unit in 2018.
We worked very well with that office.
It would be nice if the office was still there.
WOOD: And when the outbreak began in Wuhan,
the Trump screw-ups really began taking off.
As China tried to hide how bad things were,
Trump helped them cover it up,
because he wanted a trade agreement.
That's all taken care of.
And China's working very hard on the problem.
-WOOD: That's called "the art of the deal." -(bell dings)
The next screw-up came when the virus reached America.
You have 15 people, and the 15, within a couple of days,
is gonna be down to close to zero.
WOOD: Just as China was finally admitting
that this thing was more viral
than a white girl dancing on TikTok,
Trump began doing the opposite.
This is a flu. This is like a flu.
It's going to disappear one day.
It's like a miracle, it will disappear.
You're gonna have a kid with the sniffles,
and they'll say it's, uh, coronavirus,
whatever you want to call it.
WOOD: Yes, according to Trump, COVID was something
you could simply ignore-- like consent.
But even though COVID was no more harmful
than just a case of the sniffley-biffleys,
he still put together a task force,
led by the smartest guy he could find... one office over.
This guy had lots of experience
when it comes to not handling a public health crisis.
While Trump continued to promise that COVID...
...is going away,
and it will go away, and we're gonna have a great victory.
-(bell tolls) -...he did everything he could think of
to make sure it stuck around.
So I said to my people, "Slow the testing down, please."
With the masks, it's going to be really a voluntary thing
You can do it; you don't have to do it.
I'm choosing not to do it.
NEWSWOMAN: The Trump administration
dismissed the PPE shortage
and instead encouraged reusing supplies.
I don't take responsibility at all.
WOOD: Eventually, Trump was persuaded
to take the pandemic a little more seriously...
I am confident that by counting...
and continuing to take these tough measures...
...even if he pretty clearly wasn't happy about it.
(sighs): Okay.
Hey, I know how you feel, Donald.
I get cranky, too, when a pandemic pulls me away
from my 18 hours of golf.
But before long, the second wave of screw-ups would begin,
as Trump went full snake oil salesman.
Hydroxychloroquine.
Try it, if you'd like.
And then I see the disinfectant.
Is there a way we can do something like that?
Uh, by injection...
Turns out the "D" in DJT stands for "doctor,"
and the "J" stands for "Jesus, did he just say
that we should inject ourselves with bleach?!"
Still, his people rejoiced, sharing the good news
about why masks are bad...
You are violating federal law!
Back off!
(screams)
...showing up at his rallies without a care in the world.
They are dying, that's true,
and you ha... it is what it is.
As the U.S. became a global leader in coronavirus,
it seemed like the good times would never end...
until it all came crashing down.
NEWSMAN: Breaking news overnight.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump
test positive for the coronavirus.
NEWSWOMAN: At least 28 people connected to President Trump
have tested positive for COVID.
-(bugle playing taps) -WOOD: It's a sobering reminder
that coronavirus is real, and even the most powerful people,
even the President of the United States,
are vulnerable to this terrible disease.
(laughs): Nah! You can't hurt Donald Trump.
His blood is made of cheeseburgers.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I'm immune. I could come down
-and start kissing everybody. -(cheering)
So even as Trump's first term comes to an end...
COVID, COVID, COVID!
...his most impressive scandal keeps soaring to new heights.
On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your response
to this crisis?
I'd rate it a ten.