In the tumultuous aftermath of author Michael Wolff’s tell-all book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” Trump has taken to Twitter to dispel the idea that his version was by any means a first-hand account.
The President opted to take down Steve Bannon in the process.
I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist. Look at this guy’s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018
Despite Trump’s assurance, Wolff did have unparalleled access at the White House. Not only was he given a blue “appointment” badge from the Secret Service, allowing him to view the daily interactions of Trump’s inner circle beyond the standard press briefings, but Bannon reportedly signed off on Wolff’s access himself.
Upon release of the damning story, Trump launched an attack on Bannon.
Per The New York Times:
The rupture came after Mr. Bannon was quoted in a new book disparaging the president’s children, asserting that Donald Trump Jr. had been “treasonous” in meeting with Russians and calling Ivanka Trump “dumb as a brick.” Mr. Trump, described by his spokeswoman as “furious, disgusted,” fired back by saying that Mr. Bannon had “lost his mind.”
In a written statement, the president excoriated Mr. Bannon as a self-promoting exaggerator who had “very little to do with our historic victory” in the 2016 presidential election and was “only in it for himself.” Rather than representing Mr. Trump’s hard-core political base or supporting his agenda to “make America great again,” Mr. Bannon was “simply seeking to burn it all down,” the president said.
That did not stop Trump from his continued assault tonight. Desperate to protect himself from the impending criticism that will inevitably arise when the book is released tomorrow, the President has launched a campaign aimed at discrediting all of those involved with the book.
Of course, Trump’s brand of frantic name calling usually signals one thing: guilt.
It seems that Bannon isn’t the “sloppy” one, after all.
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