‘Fire And Fury’ Author Michael Wolff Doubles Down On New Book
The feeding frenzy has begun in earnest as Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff makes his way around the news talk show circuit. But what the journalist had to say during a segment of MSNBC Morning Joe on Monday is raising more than a few eyebrows.
Wolff described a White House that is not only in disarray but led by a president who is becoming increasingly erratic due to worsening mental impairment. According to Wolff, President Donald Trump is losing his grip on reality in such an alarming way that “100 percent” of the people he spoke with while compiling information for his book expressed extreme concern about Trump’s current mental state.
According to Wolff, Trump’s tenuous grasp on his surroundings has deteriorated to the point where the president does not recognize old friends and constantly repeats himself. Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough appeared to corroborate Wolff’s description of Trump by adding that his own White House sources told him that the commander-in-chief is suffering from early-stage dementia.
Scarborough also revealed that the Washington Post censored two of his articles where he quoted sources close to Trump saying that Trump was showing signs of mental illness even during his campaign.
“And it’s getting worse, and not a single person who works for him doesn’t know it.”
Since the publication of his book, Wolff has been under ferocious attack by Trump supporters, and Trump himself, who categorically deny virtually its entire contents. These attacks even led John Sargent, the CEO of the parent company that published Fire and Fury, to personally issue a statement in response to the White House’s “cease and desist” request.
“The president is free to call news ‘fake’ and to blast the media. That goes against convention, but it is not unconstitutional,” Sargent wrote. “But a demand to cease and desist publication — a clear effort by the President of the United States to intimidate a publisher into halting publication of an important book on the workings of the government — is an attempt to achieve what is called prior restraint. That is something that no American court would order as it is flagrantly unconstitutional.”
The exception, however, to the blanket denials about the accuracy of Wolff’s book concerns remarks attributed to former White House staffer Steve Bannon.
Bannon is quoted as referring to Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with alleged Russian government representatives “treasonous.” Bannon has since sought to clarify his statement, saying that he was actually referring to Trump surrogate Paul Manafort.
Another surprising bit of information surfaced during Wolff’s interview when he was asked how he managed to gain the amount of access needed to complete his year-long undertaking. According to Wolff, after receiving Trump’s blessing, he was able to capitalize on the disorganization that was rampant at the beginning of the administration.
Trump has publicly denied that he authorized Wolff’s incursion into the White House and also denies that he knows Wolff. Wolff stood by his assertion that Trump himself agreed to allow him access and also claimed that he has known Trump for more than 20 years.
Surprisingly, according to Wolff, not only did Steve Bannon facilitate his access but White House presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway did as well. Conway is a staunch supporter of Trump who has appeared on television on multiple occasions to promote and defend the president’s views.
In addition to outlining some of the highlights of his book, Wolff defended the inaccuracies that have been noted in it. Wolff essentially said that he reported based on the information that was given to him.
Perhaps, most alarmingly, both Wolff and Scarborough suggested that those around Trump are completely aware that he is mentally unfit and will admit this in private, however, they refuse to go public with their concerns.
Trump has responded to the allegations that he is suffering from mental illness by declaring himself “a very stable genius.”
