USA TODAY International Edition
White House in chaos, Trump ‘an idiot,’ book quotes Kelly as saying
White House chief of staff John Kelly frequently lost his temper and referred to President Donald Trump as “unhinged” and an “idiot,” author Bob Woodward writes in his new book “Fear: Trump in the White House.”
Kelly, in a statement Tuesday, denied the claims as simply “not true.”
The book describes a president obsessed, angry and paranoid about the Russian investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.
The Washington Post said it obtained a copy of the 448-page book before its release. Woodward, an associate editor at the Post, rose to stardom with his coverage of the Watergate break-in that brought down President Richard Nixon.
Woodward cites as his sources hundreds of hours of interviews with mostly unnamed Trump aides and others. According to the book, Kelly often vented his frustration with Trump.
“He’s an idiot,” Kelly is quoted as saying. “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.”
The Post reports that a recurring theme of the book is the efforts of Trump aides to control his impulses, hiding papers so Trump can’t sign them and talking the president down from what were viewed as bad ideas.
The book claims that at one point, Trump’s then-personal attorney, John Dowd, felt he had to convince Trump that he would commit perjury if he talked to Mueller. So Dowd staged a practice grilling that provoked a string of contradictions and lies.
“This thing’s a ... hoax,” Trump finally said, before deciding he didn’t want to testify after all.
Kelly said in his statement that “the idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true . ... As I stated back in May and still firmly stand behind: ‘I spend more time with the President than anyone else, and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship. He always knows where I stand, and he and I both know this story is total BS.’ ”
Sanders called the book “nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the president look bad.”
Woodward writes that Trump’s national security team was concerned the president showed little interest in world affairs. Trump even complained about the military spending involved in joint exercises and other activities aimed at maintaining a strong presence on the Korean Peninsula.
“We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reportedly told the president.
“Mattis was particularly exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president ... had the understanding of – ‘a fifth- or sixthgrader,’” Woodward writes.
Trump has become famous for mocking political foes, but the book shows he can be equally tough on allies. Trump is quoted as describing Reince Priebus, Kelly’s predecessor, as “a little rat. He just scurries around.” Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster wore cheap suits “like a beer salesman,” Trump is quoted as saying.
The White House did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on the book.