Trump Talks Up Economy While D.C. Continues Talking About 'Fire and Fury'
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) – President Donald Trump is touting tax cuts to family farmers in Tennessee on Monday.
Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. continues to pick apart the controversial new book that is all about Trump's presidential campaign, election and time in the White House.
As Trump left the nation's capital to celebrate the GOP tax overhaul and how it will help American farmers, the debate simmered inside the beltway about his fitness for office.
Author Michael Wolff set off a firestorm with his book "Fire and Fury," which characterizes the president as semi-literate and questions his competence.
"The people in the White Hosue are like everyone else in the country, what's going to happen, we here, we don't know from day to day," Wolff said.
The president slammed the book over the weekend and tweeted he is a "genius.. And a very stable genius at that."
During the 2016 campaign republican senator Lindsey Graham called then candidate Trump several things, but came to his defense today.
"I think this, if he doesn't call himself a genius, nobody else will," Graham said. "You can say anything you want to say about the guy. I said he was a xenophobic, race baiting religious bigot. I ran out of things to say. He won. Guess what, he's our president."
Voices from inside the White House called the allegations in the book a pile of trash, while democrats say they never thought President Trump was the right person for the job.
"It does raise very serious concerns, but I have had those concerns for a long time," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Concerns that include Trump's mental fitness and overall ability to do the job that he was elected to do.
"I don't think there's anyone in Congress, frankly, of either party, who does not concur, at least privately, with those observations and concerns," said Rep. Adam Schiff on CNN.
Billionaire democratic activist Tom Steyer, who's advocated for Trump's impeachment said Monday that he's doubling down on his effort and plans to deliver copies of "Fire and Fury" to every senator and house member.
Last week a Trump lawyer sent a cease-and desist letter to the book's publisher.
Today Macmillan Publishers' CEO sent a letter to employees calling any efforts by President Trump to suppress the book, "flagrantly unconstitutional."
Steve Bannon, the president's former chief strategist, is now walking back some of his more explosive quotes that appeared in the book.
Bannon is quoted as saying that Donald Trump Jr.'s June 2016 meeting with Russians to obtain damaging information on Hillary Clinton was "treasonous."
He now says those comments were "not aimed at Don Junior" but rather "aimed at Paul Manafort," the Trump campaign chairman who had also attended the meeting.
It may be too little too late to repair the damage with President Trump who now calls him "sloppy steve."
"I guess Sloppy Steve brought him into the White House quite a bit and it was one of those things. That's why Sloppy Steve is now looking for a job," said Trump.
Bannon now calls Donald Trump Jr. a patriot and a good man. He also insists there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The president is moving on.
After spending part of the day in Nashville to speak at a farmers' convention, Trump is heading to Atlanta to watch Georgia play Alabama for the College Football Championship.
The president had planned to announce his "Fake News Awards" Monday but, in a Tweet, he said the "losers" will instead be unveiled on Wednesday, January 17.
