麻豆影视

Skip to main content

Kremlin says Trump sent COVID tests to Russia during pandemic, denies report of Putin calls

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a Miami event marking one year since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2024. (Alex Brandon / AP Photo) Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a Miami event marking one year since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2024. (Alex Brandon / AP Photo)
Share
MOSCOW -

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the administration of former U.S. president Donald Trump had sent COVID tests to Russia but it denied reports that Trump had spoken at all to Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office.

In his book "War," U.S. journalist Bob Woodward quoted an unnamed Trump aide as saying that Trump and Putin may have spoken as many as seven times since Trump left the White House in 2021, according to The Washington Post's summary of the book.

It details one incident when Trump ordered the aide away from his office at his Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago in early 2024 so he could conduct a private phone call with Putin.

"As for the calls, that's a lie," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters. "There were no calls, and they did not hold phone calls after Trump ceased to be president."

Also according to the Woodward book, Trump while still president in 2020 had sent coveted COVID tests to Putin during a crippling shortage in the United States and around the world.

"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," Peskov said.

In April 2020, Trump's administration accepted 60 tonnes of medical equipment from Russia.

"We sent a batch of artificial respiration devices, and several test devices came from America," Peskov said. "The first testers worked very poorly."

"It was a common practice at that time to exchange such support," he added.

'Made-up stories'

Trump's campaign dismissed the reports in Woodward鈥檚 book saying, "None of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true."

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that 20 current and former Trump and Biden administration officials and career intelligence officials said they did not know about any Trump-Putin talks since the Republican left the White House in January 2021 but that "it was not inconceivable."

Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris questioned why tests were sent to Russia during the pandemic.

"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?" Harris told the Howard Stern show.

Woodward told CBS that the tests were precious assets at a time when COVID was "running wild" worldwide.

According to summaries of the book by the Post and the New York Times, U.S. President Joe Biden was privately scathing about several foreign leaders including Putin.

Biden called Putin the "epitome of evil" and used crude language about him, according to the Post summary.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington, editing by Gareth Jones)

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A father and his two children who suffered severe burns in a Springfield, Ont. house fire have undergone surgery.

Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.

With the B.C. election too close to call, Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked Tuesday how she feels about the possibility of a party that has repeatedly called for her firing forming government.

Local Spotlight

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.

The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.

A Moncton, N.B., home has been donated to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation and will be transformed into a resource hub for people living with cancer.

A Nova Scotia man crossing Canada on foot is passing through southwestern Ontario. Trevor Redmond is perhaps better known as the 鈥楩ellow in Yellow.鈥