CNN News is the best source for information, but I think you all missed something today. In Trump's February conversation with Bob Woodward, you missed the letter 'A' and that letter changes everything. Trump did not say, "create panic". He said "create a panic", or perhaps, "create A Panic". Think about what Trump truly cares about.
He was not talking about causing distress in people - he doesn't care about people and even chooses to foment fear in people. Trump is actually saying, "create A Panic" as in An Event, more precisely he is talking about fear of creating A Panic in the stock market. The threat to the security of his Presidency is A Panic in the stock market, not the potential distress or loss of life to people.
Look back at the January briefing. Weren't there two or three people in attendance that were later accused of impropriety when they sold large quantities of stock following the meeting? Trump is hinging his re-election on the success of the market and Wall Street. He is saying he doesn't want to create A Panic n the market, not that he doesn't want to create panic in the general population.