TRUMP IN MELTDOWN OVER BOOK BOMBSHELL
He tries to BAN book that says: Ivanka is ‘dumb’, son-in-law ‘greasy’ and Melania wept at Trump election... ‘but not for joy’
DONALD Trump’s desperate bid to ban a bombshell book about his presidency looked to have failed last night as publishers brought the on-sale date forward to today. The US President had ordered his lawyers to try and stop the publication of damaging claims against him and his family.
They included suggestions that his inner circle believed he was incapable of functioning as president.
The lacerating claims appear in a book by Michael Wolff, who said he
had hours of taped conversations with some of Mr Trump’s closest aides, including former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Fire And Fury: Inside The Trump White House portrays Mr Trump as a reluctant president surrounded by a politically ambitious family and an administration divided by in-fighting.
A spokesman for Henry Holt & Co., the book’s publishers, said last night: ‘Due to unprecedented demand, we are moving the on-sale date for all formats of Fire And Fury, by Michael Wolff, to Friday, January 5... from the current on-sale date of January 9.’
The book quotes Mr Bannon as saying Donald Trump Jr’s meeting with a group of Russians was ‘treasonous’, son-in-law Jared Kushner was involved in ‘greasy’ finance deals, daughter Ivanka was as ‘dumb as a brick’ and wife Melania ‘was in tears – and not of joy’ when he won the election.
Perhaps most damagingly, Mr Wolff said his access to the West Wing had convinced him that administration officials did not believe Mr Trump, 71, was capable of fulfilling his role as president.
He said the president had failed to recognise a number of friends at New Year, could not stop repeating anecdotes and behaved erratically, including eating in his locked bedroom because he was gripped by paranoia his food could be poisoned.
Mr Trump’s lawyer Charles Harder yesterday served ‘cease and desist’ letters on Mr Wolff and his publishers. An 11-page legal letter said Mr Trump’s lawyers were investigating ‘numerous false and/or baseless statements’ in the book, and threatened legal action for libel and breach of contract, as Mr Bannon had signed a confidentiality agreement.
Another legal letter was sent to Mr Bannon, who was chief executive of the Trump presidential campaign from August 2016 and was White House chief strategist for the first seven months of the presidency, until forced out.
The White House also announced an immediate ban on personal mobile phones for staff and visitors to the West Wing in an apparent crackdown on leaks.
Mr Wolff said his book was based on 200 interviews, including several conversations with the president and senior staff, and that he had hours of tapes of his interviews. Several aides quoted in the book either denied they had spoken to Mr Wolff, or said they had been misquoted.
White House Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr Trump was ‘furious’ and ‘disgusted’ by the ‘outrageous and completely false claims.
She said Mr Wolff had had only ‘one brief conversation’ with Mr Trump since he took office and much of the book was ‘completely untrue’.
A spokesman for the First Lady said: ‘This book is clearly going to be sold in the bargain fiction section. Mrs Trump supported her husband’s decision to run for president and in fact, encouraged him to do so. She was confident he would win and was very happy when he did.’
Mr Trump said just three months ago that he had ‘a very good relationship’ with Mr Bannon. And despite his apparently savage comments about the Trump inner circle, Mr Bannon has insisted he supported the president, calling him ‘a great man’. Mr Bannon was reported to have told associates he believed Mr Trump had been ill-served by some of his closest allies, including Donald Jnr and Mr Kushner. He said: ‘The President of the United States is a great man… you know I support him, day in and day out.’
Mr Trump repeated Mr Bannon’s comments to journalists last night, saying: ‘He obviously changed his tune pretty quick.’ He added: ‘I don’t talk to him.’
Katie Walsh, the president’s former deputy chief of staff, who is quoted extensively in the book, said she did not remember ever talking to Mr Wolff, and denied she said dealing with Mr Trump was ‘like trying to figure out what a child wants’. Tom Barrack, chairman of Mr Trump’s inauguration, denied he had called him ‘stupid’ and said: ‘It’s clear to anyone who knows me those are not my words.’ The row surrounding the book has seen it top the bestseller list on Amazon, based on pre-order sales. Lawyers said freedom of speech laws meant the president was unlikely to succeed in blocking its publication.
‘He eats in his locked bedroom’