s******r
发帖数: 5309 | 1 Bob Woodward’s new book reveals a ‘nervous breakdown’ of Trump’s
presidency
Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” is based on
hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington
Post)
By Philip Rucker and
Robert Costa
September 4 at 11:08 AM
John Dowd was convinced that President Trump would commit perjury if he
talked to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. So, on Jan. 27, the
president’s then-personal attorney staged a practice session to try to make
his point.
In the White House residence, Dowd peppered Trump with questions about the
Russia investigation, provoking stumbles, contradictions and lies until the
president eventually lost his cool.
“This thing’s a goddamn hoax,” Trump erupted at the start of a 30-minute
rant that finished with him saying, “I don’t really want to testify.”
The dramatic and previously untold scene is recounted in “Fear,” a
forthcoming book by Bob Woodward that paints a harrowing portrait of the
Trump presidency, based on in-depth interviews with administration officials
and other principals.
Woodward writes that his book is drawn from hundreds of hours of interviews
with firsthand participants and witnesses that were conducted on “deep
background,” meaning the information could be used but he would not reveal
who provided it. His account is also drawn from meeting notes, personal
diaries and government documents.
Woodward depicts Trump’s anger and paranoia about the Russia inquiry as
unrelenting, at times paralyzing the West Wing for entire days. Learning of
the appointment of Mueller in May 2017, Trump groused, “Everybody’s trying
to get me”— part of a venting period that shellshocked aides compared to
Richard Nixon’s final days as president.
The 448-page book was obtained by The Washington Post. Woodward, an
associate editor at The Post, sought an interview with Trump through several
intermediaries to no avail. The president called Woodward in early August,
after the manuscript had been completed, to say he wanted to participate.
The president complained that it would be a “bad book,” according to an
audio recording of the conversation. Woodward replied that his work would be
“tough,” but factual and based on his reporting.
A central theme of the book is the stealthy machinations used by those in
Trump’s inner sanctum to try to control his impulses and prevent disasters,
both for the president personally and for the nation he was elected to lead.
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.
Again and again, Woodward recounts at length how Trump’s national security
team was shaken by his lack of curiosity and knowledge about world affairs
and his contempt for the mainstream perspectives of military and
intelligence leaders.
At a National Security Council meeting on Jan. 19, Trump disregarded the
significance of the massive U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula,
including a special intelligence operation that allows the United States to
detect a North Korean missile launch in seven seconds vs. 15 minutes from
Alaska, according to Woodward. Trump questioned why the government was
spending resources in the region at all.
“We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III,” Defense Secretary
Jim Mattis told him.
After Trump left the meeting, Woodward recounts, “Mattis was particularly
exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president acted
like — and had the understanding of — ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.’ ”
In Woodward’s telling, many top advisers were repeatedly unnerved by Trump
’s actions and expressed dim views of him. “Secretaries of defense don’t
always get to choose the president they work for,” Mattis told friends at
one point, prompting laughter as he explained Trump’s tendency to go off on
tangents about subjects such as immigration and the news media.
Inside the White House, Woodward portrays an unsteady executive detached
from the conventions of governing and prone to snapping at high-ranking
staff members, whom he unsettled and belittled on a daily basis.
Chief of Staff John F. Kelly frequently lost his temper, Bob Woodward writes
in “Fear: Trump in the White House.” (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly frequently lost his temper and told
colleagues that he thought the president was “unhinged,” Woodward writes.
In one small group meeting, Kelly said of 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. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the
worst job I’ve ever had.”
Reince Priebus, Kelly’s predecessor, fretted that he could do little to
constrain Trump from sparking chaos. Woodward writes that Priebus dubbed the
presidential bedroom, where Trump obsessively watched cable news and
tweeted, “the devil’s workshop,” and said early mornings and Sunday
evenings, when the president often set off tweetstorms, were “the witching
hour.”
Trump apparently had little regard for Priebus. He once instructed then-
staff secretary Rob Porter to ignore Priebus, even though Porter reported to
the chief of staff, saying that Priebus was “‘like a little rat. He just
scurries around.’”
Few in Trump’s orbit were protected from the president’s insults. He often
mocked former national security adviser H.R. McMaster behind his back,
puffing up his chest and exaggerating his breathing as he impersonated the
retired Army general, and once said McMaster dresses in cheap suits, “like
a beer salesman.”
Trump told Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, a wealthy investor eight years
his senior: “I don’t trust you. I don’t want you doing any more
negotiations. … You’re past your prime.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions was a frequent subject of attacks by Trump. (
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
A near-constant subject of withering presidential attacks was Attorney
General Jeff Sessions. Trump told Porter that Sessions was a “traitor” for
recusing himself from overseeing the Russia investigation, Woodward writes.
Mocking Sessions’s accent, Trump added, “This guy is mentally retarded.
He’s this dumb Southerner. … He couldn’t even be a one-person country
lawyer down in Alabama.”
At a dinner with Mattis and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, among others, Trump lashed out at a vocal critic, Sen
. John McCain (R-Ariz.). He falsely suggested that the former Navy pilot had
been a coward for taking early release from a prisoner-of-war camp in
Vietnam because of his father’s military rank and leaving others behind.
Mattis swiftly corrected his boss: “No, Mr. President, I think you’ve got
it reversed.” The defense secretary explained that McCain, who died Aug. 25
, had in fact turned down early release and was brutally tortured during his
five years at the Hanoi Hilton.
“Oh, okay,” Trump replied, according to Woodward’s account.
With Trump’s rage and defiance impossible to contain, Cabinet members and
other senior officials learned to act discreetly. Woodward describes an
alliance among Trump’s traditionalists — including Mattis and Gary Cohn,
the president’s former top economic adviser — to stymie what they
considered dangerous acts.
“It felt like we were walking along the edge of the cliff perpetually,”
Porter is quoted as saying. “Other times, we would fall over the edge, and
an action would be taken.”
After Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical attack on civilians
in April 2017, Trump called Mattis and said he wanted to assassinate the
dictator. “Let’s fucking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the fucking
lot of them,” Trump said, according to Woodward.
Mattis told the president that he would get right on it. But after hanging
up the phone, he told a senior aide: “We’re not going to do any of that.
We’re going to be much more measured.” The national security team
developed options for the more conventional airstrike that Trump ultimately
ordered.
Then-White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn tried to temper Trump’s
nationalistic trade views. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Cohn, a Wall Street veteran, tried to tamp down Trump’s strident
nationalism regarding trade. According to Woodward, Cohn “stole a letter
off Trump’s desk” that the president was intending to sign to formally
withdraw the United States from a trade agreement with South Korea. Cohn
later told an associate that he removed the letter to protect national
security and that Trump did not notice that it was missing.
Cohn made a similar play to prevent Trump from pulling the United States out
of the North American Free Trade Agreement, something the president has
long threatened to do. In spring 2017, Trump was eager to withdraw from
NAFTA and told Porter: “Why aren’t we getting this done? Do your job. It’
s tap, tap, tap. You’re just tapping me along. I want to do this.”
Under orders from the president, Porter drafted a notification letter
withdrawing from NAFTA. But he and other advisers worried that it could
trigger an economic and foreign relations crisis. So Porter consulted Cohn,
who told him, according to Woodward: “I can stop this. I’ll just take the
paper off his desk.”
Despite repeated threats by Trump, the United States has remained in both
pacts. The administration continues to negotiate new terms with South Korea
as well as with its NAFTA partners, Canada and Mexico.
Cohn came to regard the president as “a professional liar” and threatened
to resign in August 2017 over Trump’s handling of a deadly white
supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Cohn, who is Jewish, was especially
shaken when one of his daughters found a swastika on her college dorm room.
Trump was sharply criticized for initially saying that “both sides” were
to blame. At the urging of advisers, he then condemned white supremacists
and neo-Nazis, but almost immediately told aides, “That was the biggest
fucking mistake I’ve made” and the “worst speech I’ve ever given,”
according to Woodward’s account.
When Cohn met with Trump to deliver his resignation letter after
Charlottesville, the president told him, “This is treason,” and persuaded
his economic adviser to stay on. Kelly then confided to Cohn that he shared
Cohn’s horror at Trump’s handling of the tragedy — and shared Cohn’s
fury with Trump.
“I would have taken that resignation letter and shoved it up his ass six
different times,” Kelly told Cohn, according to Woodward. Kelly himself has
threatened to quit several times, but has not done so.
Woodward illustrates how the dread in Trump’s orbit became all-encompassing
over the course of Trump’s first year in office, leaving some staff
members and Cabinet members confounded by the president’s lack of
understanding about how government functions and his inability and
unwillingness to learn.
At one point, Porter, who departed in February amid domestic abuse
allegations, is quoted as saying, “This was no longer a presidency. This is
no longer a White House. This is a man being who he is.”
Such moments of panic are a routine feature, but not the thrust of Woodward
’s book, which mostly focuses on substantive decisions and internal
disagreements, including tensions with North Korea as well as the future of
U.S. policy in Afghanistan.
Woodward recounts repeated episodes of anxiety inside the government over
Trump’s handling of the North Korean nuclear threat. One month into his
presidency, Trump asked Dunford for a plan for a preemptive military strike
on North Korea, which rattled the combat veteran.
In the fall of 2017, as Trump intensified a war of words with Kim Jong Un,
nicknaming North Korea’s dictator “Little Rocket Man” in a speech at the
United Nations, aides worried the president might be provoking Kim. But,
Woodward writes, Trump told Porter that he saw the situation as a contest of
wills: “This is all about leader versus leader. Man versus man. Me versus
Kim.”
The book also details Trump’s impatience with the war in Afghanistan, which
had become America’s longest conflict. At a July 2017 National Security
Council meeting, Trump dressed down his generals and other advisers for 25
minutes, complaining that the United States was losing, according to
Woodward.
“The soldiers on the ground could run things much better than you,” Trump
told them. “They could do a much better job. I don’t know what the hell we
’re doing.” He went on to ask, “How many more deaths? How many more lost
limbs? How much longer are we going to be there?”
The president’s family members, while sometimes touted as his key advisers
by other Trump chroniclers, are minor players in Woodward’s account,
popping up occasionally in the West Wing and vexing adversaries.
Ivanka Trump and her husband, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner. (
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Former White House senior adviser Stephen K. Bannon, second from left,
former national security adviser H.R. McMaster and former chief of staff
Reince Priebus, right, in 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Woodward recounts an expletive-laden altercation between Ivanka Trump, the
president’s eldest daughter and senior adviser, and Stephen K. Bannon, the
former chief White House strategist.
“You’re a goddamn staffer!” Bannon screamed at her, telling her that she
had to work through Priebus like other aides. “You walk around this place
and act like you’re in charge, and you’re not. You’re on staff!”
Ivanka Trump, who had special access to the president and worked around
Priebus, replied: “I’m not a staffer! I’ll never be a staffer. I’m the
first daughter.”
Such tensions boiled among many of Trump’s core advisers. Priebus is quoted
as describing Trump officials not as rivals but as “natural predators.”
“When you put a snake and a rat and a falcon and a rabbit and a shark and a
seal in a zoo without walls, things start getting nasty and bloody,”
Priebus says.
Hovering over the White House was Mueller’s inquiry, which deeply
embarrassed the president. Woodward describes Trump calling his Egyptian
counterpart to secure the release of an imprisoned charity worker and
President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi saying: “Donald, I’m worried about this
investigation. Are you going to be around?”
Trump relayed the conversation to Dowd and said it was “like a kick in the
nuts,” according to Woodward.
The book vividly recounts the ongoing debate between Trump and his lawyers
about whether the president would sit for an interview with Mueller. On
March 5, Dowd and Trump attorney Jay Sekulow met in Mueller’s office with
the special counsel and his deputy, James Quarles, where Dowd and Sekulow
reenacted Trump’s January practice session.
Woodward’s book recounts the debate between Trump and his lawyers,
including John Dowd, regarding whether the president will sit for an
interview with special counsel Robert. S. Mueller III. (Richard Drew/AP)
Dowd then explained to Mueller and Quarles why he was trying to keep the
president from testifying: “I’m not going to sit there and let him look
like an idiot. And you publish that transcript, because everything leaks in
Washington, and the guys overseas are going to say, ‘I told you he was an
idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this
idiot for?’ ”
“John, I understand,” Mueller replied, according to Woodward.
Later that month, Dowd told Trump: “Don’t testify. It’s either that or an
orange jumpsuit.”
But Trump, concerned about the optics of a president refusing to testify and
convinced that he could handle Mueller’s questions, had by then decided
otherwise.
“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. | b********n
发帖数: 38600 | 2 “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.” | s******r
发帖数: 5309 | 3 狗屁党为了推翻Roe v Wade，为了给主子省几毛钱税，不惜养精神病总统，把米国搞成
了世界级笑料。 | k**********4
发帖数: 16092 | 4 you need professional help.
【在 s******r 的大作中提到】
: 狗屁党为了推翻Roe v Wade，为了给主子省几毛钱税，不惜养精神病总统，把米国搞成
: 了世界级笑料。
| b****n
发帖数: 6896 | 5 没啥
历史向来如此。
叔刚拿驴卡那阵。有一会算命的朋友说，拿呗，美国也还有十年好混。转眼过了大半了。
今年回去跟他瞎聊，说你看这疮破瞎鸡吧搞，他笑笑，这有啥奇怪的，历史上朝代要完
的时候，都会出些奇怪的人干奇怪的事，让后人百思不得其解。 | s******r
发帖数: 5309 | 6 估计疮破看了电视上添油加醋的报道，肯定会开了赛熏死，凯里，马蒂斯几个，然后把
厚破希克斯招进宫安慰受伤的小心灵。 | o*****e
发帖数: 379 | 7 只要像Hillary一样调用第五修正案就什么都不用说。 | t******o
发帖数: 3223 | 8 已经搞不清楚这是第几波了。但是，没用，美国人民不care, 现在的政策方向反倒是得
到了最大多数人的支持。就是放条狗做总统也有50%的机会做出正确决策，别说是一个
亿万富翁。
不干可以辞职，马上会有人替上来
【在 s******r 的大作中提到】
: Bob Woodward’s new book reveals a ‘nervous breakdown’ of Trump’s
: presidency
: Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” is based on
: hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington
: Post)
: By Philip Rucker and
: Robert Costa
: September 4 at 11:08 AM
: John Dowd was convinced that President Trump would commit perjury if he
: talked to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. So, on Jan. 27, the
| s******r
发帖数: 5309 | 9 希拉里从来没有take the 5th，只有她的一个计算机系统管理员take了。
疮破当然可以援引第五修正案不吭气。主要是不太好看。
【在 o*****e 的大作中提到】
: 只要像Hillary一样调用第五修正案就什么都不用说。
| d*c
发帖数: 1 | | | | Y***i
发帖数: 1932 | 11 “只要两个到三个大法官进高院就满足了。其他都是bonus。”
-- 黄陂疮粪
【在 s******r 的大作中提到】
: 狗屁党为了推翻Roe v Wade，为了给主子省几毛钱税，不惜养精神病总统，把米国搞成
: 了世界级笑料。
| s******r
发帖数: 5309 | 12 今天两个独立民调数据，大部分美国人民反对疮破和疮党的政策。
http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/Military/51406955.html
【在 t******o 的大作中提到】
: 已经搞不清楚这是第几波了。但是，没用，美国人民不care, 现在的政策方向反倒是得
: 到了最大多数人的支持。就是放条狗做总统也有50%的机会做出正确决策，别说是一个
: 亿万富翁。
: 不干可以辞职，马上会有人替上来
| g******t
发帖数: 18158 | 13 这一届美国人民越来越不行了，黑皮龙虾党想要你们的钱，白皮白至上想要你们的命
【在 t******o 的大作中提到】
: 已经搞不清楚这是第几波了。但是，没用，美国人民不care, 现在的政策方向反倒是得
: 到了最大多数人的支持。就是放条狗做总统也有50%的机会做出正确决策，别说是一个
: 亿万富翁。
: 不干可以辞职，马上会有人替上来
| t******o
发帖数: 3223 | 14 还有人拿民调当回事。你肯定是廊坊新上来的吧
【在 s******r 的大作中提到】
: 今天两个独立民调数据，大部分美国人民反对疮破和疮党的政策。
: http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/Military/51406955.html
| s******r
发帖数: 5309 | 15 对不起，所有受过教育的人都会认真对待民调。撒泼打滚也改变不了数据。
【在 t******o 的大作中提到】
: 还有人拿民调当回事。你肯定是廊坊新上来的吧
| e*i
发帖数: 10288 | 16 民调？不是希拉拉是总统吗？
【在 t******o 的大作中提到】
: 还有人拿民调当回事。你肯定是廊坊新上来的吧
| o*****e
发帖数: 379 | 17 她是说“我不记得了”吧？
【在 s******r 的大作中提到】
: 希拉里从来没有take the 5th，只有她的一个计算机系统管理员take了。
: 疮破当然可以援引第五修正案不吭气。主要是不太好看。
|
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