‘Trump cares about himself’, not about India: Bob Woodward warns

Donald Trump wins US Elections: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward spoke out about the potential ramifications of Donald Trump’s return to the White House following his victory in the 2024 US presidential elections.
Citing years of investigative work and his vast experience covering the Donald Trump administration during his first term, Woodward characterised the US President-elect as “unfit to lead” and “a danger to democracy,” highlighting both his inability to unite the country and his reckless disregard for national interests.
As analysts and Indian leaders hope for better India-US ties following Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House, Woodward warned, “Trump cares about himself, so whether it’s India or whether it’s Europe (or) whether it’s Africa, you name it, it’s not about Donald Trump so it doesn’t interest him”.
Woodward’s critical stance on Trump’s leadership was emphasised by statements from those who served closest to the former president, including General John Kelly, James Mattis, and Mark Milley.
According to Woodward, these key figures all painted a bleak picture of Trump’s presidency. “General Kelly, a former Marine officer and Chief of Staff, calls Trump an ‘idiot’,” Woodward said. “He says it’s pointless to try to convince him of anything – he’s gone off the rails, we’re in Crazy Town.”
Former Secretary of Defence James Mattis went even further, calling Trump “unfit to be president,” with one of the core issues being Trump’s divisive approach to the nation. “He doesn’t try to unite the country; he thrives on dividing it,” Woodward explained, quoting Mattis’s scathing assessment of Trump’s leadership style.
“Trump is the most dangerous person for the presidency. He’s a fascist to the core,” said General Mark Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoing the sentiment.
In addition to his inability to work with others, Woodward asserted that Donald Trump was driven by instinct rather than logic, facts, or the best interests of the nation.
“He doesn’t want advice,” Woodward said. “He doesn’t believe in democracy or the Constitution, and he doesn’t even believe in truth.” This instinctual leadership, according to Woodward, was disastrous during the Covid-19 crisis, where Trump failed to respond with any real plan, despite early warnings about the pandemic’s severity.
Reflecting on his in-depth interviews with Trump during the final year of his first term presidency, Woodward described Trump’s approach to the Covid crisis as “reckless.”
“I spent nine hours interviewing him about how he handled the coronavirus, and it was evident – he could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives simply by having a plan. But instead, he just shrugged it off and said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s going to go away.’”
One of the most concerning aspects of Trump’s leadership, according to Woodward, is his admiration for autocratic leaders, particularly Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Trump worships autocrats like Putin,” Woodward remarked, citing the former president’s admiration for the Russian leader. “He publicly said he likes Putin, and Putin likes him back. That’s dangerous.”
Woodward recounted a disturbing story from 2020, when Trump allegedly gave Putin sensitive equipment intended to detect the coronavirus. 
“Trump gave Putin expensive equipment for detecting the virus – machines that Americans needed. He did this in secret, telling people, ‘Don’t tell anyone,’ because he knew it would cause outrage,” Woodward stated.
The Kremlin later confirmed the story.
Woodward also warned of the broader implications of a second Trump presidency, particularly in terms of US foreign policy. “If Trump becomes president again, he will simply wave Putin in and let him take whatever he wants. Why? Because Trump is an autocrat at heart,” Woodward said. The Pulitzer Prize winner said this in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Woodward has previously compared Putin’s actions to those of Adolf Hitler, especially in regard to his invasion of Ukraine. “Putin is the Hitler of our century,” Woodward said. “What’s happening in Ukraine is a savage attempt at territorial conquest. Putin wants Ukraine to disappear as a nation, just as Hitler wanted to erase certain countries and people from existence.”
When asked about Trump’s decision-making, Woodward painted a picture of a leader who was entirely self-centred. “Trump is only interested in what benefits him personally, not the national interest,” he said.
“We are in a period of great instability,” Woodward said. “We need leaders who will make the system more rational, who will stabilise the government and the world. Trump is not that leader.”
Woodward warned that Trump’s presidency would continue to fuel global instability. “Trump has no understanding of what the national interest is,” Woodward said. “He is only interested in Donald Trump.”
(The article is based on an interview with Bob Woodward conducted by Hindustan Times. Click here to watch the interview)