Trump Secretly Shared COVID-19 Tests with Putin and Stayed in Touch After Presidency, Bob Woodward Claims

Mar. 15, 2025

Vladimir Putin, left, and Donald Trump.Photo:MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump hold a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019.

MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty

According to theTimesand theAssociated Press,the book also claimed that while Trump was still in office, he secretly sent Putin COVID-19 test machines for personal use in 2020, at a time when they were in high demand.

The book alleges that Putin told Trump not to reveal that he had given away the test machines in order to avoid potential political backlash. “I don’t want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me,” Putin reportedly said.

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Bob Woodward.Tasos Katopodis/Getty

Bob Woodward at the 2021 Audi Innovation Series at The Ritz Carlton on November 10, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Tasos Katopodis/Getty

In an interview withHoward Sternon Tuesday, Oct. 8, Vice PresidentKamala Harrissharply criticized her presidential election opponent for his alleged actions.

“People in America were struggling to get tests and this guy is sending them to Russia, to a murderous dictator for his personal use?” Harris said, according to a pool report.

“That is just the most recent stark example of who Trump is, that he secretly sent COVID test kits for the personal use of Putin of Russia, an adversary to the United States, when he was talking about Americans should be putting bleach in their blood. Think about what this is.”

source: people.com