Kayyem Weighs in on ‘Deadly Interesting’ Revelations from Bob Woodward’s ‘Rage’

National security expert Juliette Kayyem made her weekly appearance on Boston Public Radio Wednesday, where she touched on reporting from veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book, “Rage,” which includes an acknowledgment from President Trump that he understood the looming severity of the COVID-19 pandemic back in February, at the same time he was publicly claiming the virus would “disappear."

"Trump never likes to be wrong,” she said. "And so what was interesting to me about his claim that he always knew how bad it was going to be, is that even though it’s against self-interest… in some ways it satisfies his own narrative about himself, which is ‘I’m never wrong.’"

"I think that that’s so interesting… deadly interesting, that that’s how his brain actually works,” she said. “He’d rather be accused of lying than be accused of being wrong."

Kayyem also discussed her latest piece in The Atlantic, "The Emotionally Challenging Next Phase of the Pandemic," and whether she believes the president's latest string of scandals will influence swing voters in November. 

Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, and faculty chair of the homeland security program at the Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.