President Trump, who used to be a fan of Bob Woodward…
Only the Obama WH can get away with attacking Bob Woodward.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2013
…will not be happy with his new book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” excerpts of which have been published by the Washington Post and CNN.
First up, according to Woodward, chief of staff John Kelly called the president “an idiot”:
BOB WOODWARD quotes John Kelly in his new book as saying of POTUS: “He’s an idiot. It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had.” Via @washingtonpost
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) September 4, 2018
There’s also an excerpt where Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis blows off President Trump after he issued orders to kill Syrian President Bashar al-Assad:
Read the Woodward book twice. Explosive reporting. Vivid scenes in every chapter. Includes documents, dates, details. Top Trump advisers took papers off of the president's desk to stop him from making decisions. Mattis ignored his order to kill Assad.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) September 4, 2018
According to the book, the president told Mattis, “Let’s f*cking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the f*cking lot of them”:
How is a person so easily distracted that they forget ordering the assassination of a foreign leader. https://t.co/brL0SrJSKq pic.twitter.com/K6F0SURx2J
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) September 4, 2018
Another excerpt says the president though Sen. John McCain had accepted early release from a North Vietnamese POW camp thanks to his father’s connections. According to the book, Mattis had to correct him on it:
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Woodward reports Trump called Sessions "mentally retarded" and a "dumb Southerner." And Woodward reports Trump mocked McCain for…accepting early release from the POW camp, forcing Mattis to tell him that that is the opposite of the real story. Anyway read the story.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 4, 2018
Mattis reportedly referred to Trump as having the understanding of a “fifth- or sixth-grader”:
“Mattis was particularly exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president acted like — and had the understanding of — ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.’ ” https://t.co/dUBY1SlrwX
— Robert Costa (@costareports) September 4, 2018
But it’s not just the military who is not listening to the president at times. Woodward has numerous examples of White House staffers engaged in an “administrative coup d’etat” with “senior aides conspiring to pluck official papers from the president’s desk so he couldn’t see or sign them”:
“Woodward describes ‘an administrative coup d’etat’ and a ‘nervous breakdown’ of the executive branch, with senior aides conspiring to pluck official papers from the president’s desk so he couldn’t see or sign them.” https://t.co/0hX6KuvG42
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 4, 2018
This behavior included former White House economic adviser Gary Cohn:
good god https://t.co/PMU7JYJY9j pic.twitter.com/PfZCFt91wT
— Steven Rich (@dataeditor) September 4, 2018
Rob Porter, who was fired from the White House after reports of past domestic abuse violations came to light, reportedly said “a third of my job was trying to react to some really dangerous ideas that [Trump] had and to try to give him reasons to believe that maybe they weren’t such good ideas”:
https://twitter.com/abbydphillip/status/1036999595275034624
More excerpts…
On Charlottesville:
Trump on walking back his original "both sides" C'ville comments: “That was the biggest f—-g mistake I’ve made” and the “worst speech I’ve ever given,” according to Woodward’s account. https://t.co/dUBY1SlrwX
— Robert Costa (@costareports) September 4, 2018
On Jeff Sessions:
Trump on Jeff Sessions (from Woodward's book)
"This guy is mentally retarded. He’s this dumb Southerner. … He couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama.”https://t.co/IPpOVtPSfA
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) September 4, 2018
Woodward reports Trump called Sessions "mentally retarded" and a "dumb Southerner." And Woodward reports Trump mocked McCain for…accepting early release from the POW camp, forcing Mattis to tell him that that is the opposite of the real story. Anyway read the story.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 4, 2018
On the Mueller investigation and former attorney John Dowd:
According to Woodward, John Dowd did a practice Mueller interview with Trump. It went disastrously. Dowd told Trump: “Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jumpsuit.” He resigned as Trump's lawyer the following day. Via @PhilipRucker @costareports https://t.co/CUEoy2inu6
— Rosalind Helderman (@PostRoz) September 4, 2018
“I’ll be a real good witness,” Trump told Dowd, according to Woodward.
“You are not a good witness,” Dowd replied. “Mr. President, I’m afraid I just can’t help you.”
The next morning, Dowd resigned.https://t.co/amkWrbT98f
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) September 4, 2018
On Wilbur Ross:
Trump told Wilbur Ross: “I don’t trust you. I don’t want you doing any more negotiations. … You’re past your prime.” https://t.co/NFkQ4NSZPm
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) September 4, 2018
On Barack Obama and Syria:
CNN has also obtained a copy of the book. In it, Woodward writes that during a conversation with Sen. Lindsey Graham, Trump called President Barack Obama a "weak dick" for not acting in Syria. https://t.co/rl7ZBVFkcH
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 4, 2018
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