Woodward book features explosive quotes about Trump and cohorts
WASHINGTON — Longtime Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward’s new book on U.S. President Donald Trump’s first 18 months in office includes some incendiary comments attributed to the president and key former and current White House staffers. Trump and other officials have denied some accounts. A look at some of the most explosive passages:
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on working for 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.”
Trump on Attorney General Jeff Sessions: “This guy is mentally retarded. He’s this dumb Southerner . ... How in the world was I ever persuaded to pick him for my attorney general?... He couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama. What business does he have being attorney general?”
Trump after making a speech condemning white supremacists over violence in Charlottesville: “That was the biggest f--ing mistake I’ve made . ... You never make those concessions. You never apologize. I didn’t do anything wrong in the first place. Why look weak?”
Trump to former director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn when he tried to resign post-Charlottesville: “This is treason.”
Defence Secretary of Jim Mattis on Iranian leaders: “Those idiot raghead mullahs.”
Trump on his Twitter habits: Woodward recounts that after the messaging platform doubled its character count for a single tweet from 140 to 280, Trump told then-White House staff secretary Rob Porter, “It’s a good thing, but it’s a bit of a shame because I was the Ernest Hemingway of 140 characters.”
Trump on his nickname for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un: “Little Rocket Man .... I think that may be my best ever, best nickname ever.”
Ivanka Trump, when told she was a “staffer” by Steve Bannon: “I’m not a staffer!... I’ll never be a staffer. I’m the first daughter and I’m never going to be a staffer.”
Deputy Chief of Staff Zach Fuentes on Kelly: “He’s not a detail guy .... Never put more than one page in front of him.”
Fraternity group votes to ban hard alcohol
(AP) — Most U.S. and Canadian fraternities have one year to ban vodka, tequila and other hard alcohol under a rule adopted during the recent annual meeting of their trade association, the group announced Tuesday.
In “a near-unanimous vote” on Aug. 27, the 66 international and national men’s fraternities of the North-American Interfraternity Conference adopted the rule prohibiting hard alcohol with more than 15 per cent alcohol by volume from fraternity chapters and events unless served by licensed third-party vendors, the group said. The member fraternities have until Sept. 1, 2019, to implement the rule across their more than 6,100 chapters on 800 campuses.
The rule adoption follows the alcohol-related deaths last year of fraternity pledges at Louisiana State University and Penn State University.
Alcohol abuse and “its serious consequences endanger” fraternities’ core values of brotherhood, personal development and providing a community of support, said Judson Horras, president and CEO of the conference. “This action shows fraternities’ clear commitment and leadership to further their focus on the safety of members and all in our communities,” he said.
The Interfraternity Council at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., voted in February 2015 to ban hard liquor from fraternity properties and all chapter events.
Seth Gutwein, current Purdue IFC president, said the result has been “a positive shift in our culture when it comes to the health and safety of our members and guests.”