Woodward’s debut in front of a near-capacity Amphitheater crowd was part of this week’s theme, “Freedom of Expression, Imagination, and the Resilience of Democracy.”

The 80-year-old Woodward discussed a range of topics, from the infamous Watergate scandal that made him a household name to Trump’s latest indictment for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.

He was asked during the morning talk by Deborah Sunya Moore, Chautauqua’s chief program officer, whether the definition of “truth” has changed over time with different presidents.

“Wow,” the journalist replied. “I mean, there are easier ways to describe the creation of the universe.”

Famed journalist Bob Woodward spoke Thursday in front of a near-capacity Amphitheater crowd at Chautauqua Institution. Woodward discussed at length former President Donald Trump and his latest indictment. Woodward is pictured with Deborah Sunya Moore, Chautauqua’s chief program officer. P-J photos by Eric Tichy

Woodward noted that each president is different, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. As he did often, he quickly steered the discussion to Trump, of whom he has written three books.

Going back to the word truth, Woodward said Trump had been warned about the threat of a worldwide pandemic, months before COVID-19 took hold in the United States. The president also had been told that the virus would be just as devastating as the 1918 flu pandemic.

“Trump ignored it,” Woodward said. “There’s nothing in the book of crimes about letting down the public on a health warning. But maybe there should be, because he knew. He covered it up — he lied to the public.”

Woodward said Trump declared the virus under control in July 2020, mere months before the General Election against Joe Biden. Trump told him he’d unveil a plan to combat COVID after he won re-election, a mention that drew scoffs Thursday from the Amphitheater crowd.

“All he cared about was the election,” Woodward said. “It is my conclusion, and from the evidence from his own voice, that he does not understand the presidency and the responsibility that come with it. … He does not understand democracy. I think he looks at democracy as enemy territory, because it’s about the public. Not him. The only thing he’s interested in is him.”

Woodward alluded to Trump’s “powerful personality” and how it’s impacting those seeking the Republican nomination for president. He referenced a story in the New York Times in which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

“How have we even entered into that room where we are having that discussion?” he asked. “So, you know in a sense, we’ve been bamboozled by Trump to say, ‘Let’s have this argument about he won in 2020.'”

Regarding Democracy, Woodward discussed the U.S. Supreme Court. The third book he ever wrote, “The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court,” looked into Warren Burger’s early years as Chief Justice.

He also spoke highly of his former publisher at the Washington Post, Katharine Graham, whom he described as a “truly great lady (and) great believer in journalism.”

After Nixon resigned in 1974, Graham wrote Woodward and his writing companion, Carl Bernstein, a letter advising them to remain humble. She told the pair to “beware the demon pomposity,” something Woodward said often leads to over self-confidence in the media, politics and even academia.

Woodward even recounted how he first met Mark Felt, known most famously in “All the President’s Men” as Deep Throat. The two met by chance outside the Situation Room of the White House where Woodward, still a young Navy lieutenant, was delivering documents.

Felt later became the deputy director of the FBI and fed information on Watergate to Woodward.

He began his remarks Thursday by retelling the morning he learned Gerald Ford had pardoned Nixon just a month into his own presidency. Woodward believed, as did the country, that Ford and Nixon had worked out some sort of deal before Nixon resigned.

Twenty-five years later, Woodward decided to write a book about the legacy of the Watergate scandal, from the presidencies of Ford through Bill Clinton. Ford agreed to an interview and confirmed that he had been approached by Nixon’s chief of staff about a pardon, but denied there was a deal in place.

Ford told Woodward that the nation was consumed by news of Nixon and whether he’d go to jail. He knew a pardon would help move the country forward.

Ford told Woodward, “I had to get Nixon off the front page and out of the news and into the history books. So I pardoned him. I knew I was going to be slaughtered. I knew I was going to be criticized, but I was convinced that this was in the national interest.”

Woodward is currently the associate editor at the Washington Post, where he has worked since 1971. In her opening remarks, Sunya Moore called Woodward one of the greatest journalists in history.

Woodward is no stranger to Chautauqua County. In August 2019, he spoke about Trump and the upcoming presidential election during a talk at the Reg Lenna Center for The Arts.