Woodward says Trump ‘dangerous’ and ‘a threat to democracy’

Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward said on Sunday that he considers former President Trump “dangerous” and a threat to both democracy and the presidency.

Woodward is promoting a forthcoming audiobook titled “The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward’s Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump,” which includes the full audio of his 20 one-on-one interviews with the former president.

“Trump was the wrong man for the job,” Woodward said during an appearance on “CBS Sunday Morning” with John Dickerson. “I realize now, two years later, all of the Jan. 6 insurrection, leads me to the conclusion that he’s not just the wrong man for the job, but he’s dangerous, and he is a threat to democracy, and he’s a threat to the presidency because he doesn’t understand the core obligations that come with that office.”

In an op-ed for The Washington Post published Sunday, Woodward wrote that Trump continues to pose a threat to U.S. democracy.

“‘The Trump Tapes’ leaves no doubt that after four years in the presidency, Trump has learned where the levers of power are, and full control means installing absolute loyalists in key Cabinet and White House posts” he wrote.

“The record now shows that Trump has led — and continues to lead — a seditious conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, which in effect is an effort to destroy democracy,” he added.

“Trump reminds how easy it is to break things you do not understand — democracy and the presidency,” he wrote.

Woodward’s new book, distributed by Simon & Schuster, is slated for release on Oct. 25. 

Woodward also told Dickerson that he regrets not asking Trump more questions about his refusal to leave the White House, as Trump declined to comment to Woodward on the issue ahead of the 2020 election.

“It’s the only time he had no comment,” Woodward told Dickerson.  “And this, of course, was months before his loss. And I kind of slapped myself a little bit: Why didn’t I follow up on that a little bit more?”

Woodward’s remarks come after the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol formally issued a subpoena to Trump on Friday.

Trump, who faces a slew of legal battles over his political and business activities, told a crowd during a rally in Texas on Saturday that he will probably launch another bid for the White House in 2024. 

The Hill has reached out to a Trump spokesperson for comment on Woodward’s latest comments.