Trump Fires Back Against Bob Woodward's New Tell All
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/CNN) - President Donald Trump has weighed in on Twitter about a new book by legendary journalist Bob Woodward which has bombshell revelations about the workings inside the administration.
Trump has refuted the information in "Fear: Trump In The White House," which is published by Simon & Schuster, a division of CBS.
Late Tuesday, Trump tweeted:
The Woodward book has already been refuted and discredited by General (Secretary of Defense) James Mattis and General (Chief of Staff) John Kelly. Their quotes were made up frauds, a con on the public. Likewise other stories and quotes. Woodward is a Dem operative? Notice timing?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2018
Wednesday morning he followed up.
Isn't it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost. Don't know why Washington politicians don't change libel laws?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018
In one excerpt, Woodward writes that Kelly said of President Trump, "He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in Crazytown."
Woodward also writes that Defense Secretary James Mattis told close associates his Commander in Chief acted like, and had the understanding of, "a fifth or sixth grader."
Both Kelly and Mattis have denied making the statements.
Woodward says the President was not made available to be interviewed for the book. The Washington Post released a recording that Woodward made of his conversation with Trump in which he brought that up.
Woodward, "I'm sorry we missed the opportunity to talk for the book."
Trump, "Well, i just spoke with Kellyanne (Conway) and she asked me if I got a call. I never got a call. I never got a message. Who did you ask about speaking with me?"
Woodward, "Well, about six people."
Multiple people close to Trump have speculated that part of the reason an interview never happened was because of a policy instituted by chief of staff John Kelly after the January publication of Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," which portrayed Trump as an ill-equipped leader who refused to read even one-page briefing papers.
Wolff said he was able to get access because he pitched a book that seemed sympathetic to the administration and Trump encouraged staffers to speak with him for the book, two sources told CNN. Wolff was seen frequently in the West Wing during the reporting of his book. Woodward has been spotted as well The book infuriated Kelly and then-top staffer Hope Hicks, and Kelly made clear to staff that no more interviews for books were allowed on White House grounds.
People who have spoken with Woodward said they were stunned by the level of detail he had learned about conversations and events inside the White House. Beyond personal accounts, Woodward also has documents, including administration memorandums and email exchanges between staffers, one source familiar with the book said.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement saying that the tell-all is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad.
Woodward's book, which comes in at just under 500 pages, is due out next Tuesday.
(©2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN contributed to this report.)
