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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Trump aide privately called him 'idiot'

    'We're in Crazytown': Woodward book says Trump aide privately called him 'idiot'

    by The Associated Press
    Tuesday, September 4th 2018



    In this Aug. 31, 2018 photo, President Donald Trump gestures while speaking at the Harris Conference Center in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)




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    WASHINGTON (AP) — An upcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward says President Donald Trump's chief of staff privately called Trump an "idiot" and aides plucked sensitive documents off the president's desk to keep him from taking rash actions.

    The book is the latest tell-all to roil the Trump administration with explosive anecdotes and concerns about the commander in chief. The Washington Post on Tuesday published details from "Fear: Trump in the White House," the Watergate reporter's forthcoming examination of Trump's first 18 months in office.

    Chief of Staff John Kelly is quoted as having doubted Trump's mental faculties, declaring during one meeting, "We're in Crazytown."
    Trump's former lawyer in the Russia probe, John Dowd, is also said to have doubted Trump's ability to avoid perjuring himself should he be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller.

    "Don't testify. It's either that or an orange jumpsuit," Dowd is quoted telling the president.

    And Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is quoted explaining to Trump why the U.S. maintains troops on the South Korean peninsula to monitor the North's missile activities. "We're doing this in order to prevent World War III," Mattis says.

    Woodward recounts that Mattis told "close associates that the president acted like — and had the understanding of — 'a fifth- or sixth-grader.'"

    Woodward also claims that Gary Cohn, the former director of the National Economic Council, boasted of removing papers off Trump's desk to prevent their signature, including efforts by the president to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

    The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The publication of Woodward's book has been anticipated for weeks, and current and former White House officials estimate that nearly all of their colleagues cooperated with the noted journalist, who cut his teeth bringing down Richard Nixon's presidency during Watergate.
    CNN Newsroom
    @CNNnewsroom

    "We have heard publicly things about the President's temper and chaos and dysfunction but this comes from his top officials... The level of detail is extraordinary" says CNN's Jamie Gangel on Bob Woodward's explosive new book http://cnn.it/2LXy7V9
    10:09 AM - Sep 4, 2018




    But Trump did not speak to Woodward until after the book's manuscript was completed. The Post released audio of Trump expressing surprise about the book in an August conversation with Woodward. Woodward tells Trump he had contacted multiple officials to attempt to interview Trump and was rebuffed.
    Kasie Hunt
    @kasie


    BOB WOODWARD quotes John Kelly in his new book as saying of POTUS: “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.” Via @washingtonpost
    8:16 AM - Sep 4, 2018
    The book follows the January release of author Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury,"which led to a rift between Trump and Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist who spoke with Wolff in terms highly critical of the president and his family. Wolff's book attracted attention with its vivid anecdotes, but suffered from numerous factual inaccuracies.

    Woodward's work also comes weeks after former White House aide and "Apprentice" contestant Omarosa Manigault Newman published an expose on her time in the West Wing, including audio recordings of her firing by Kelly and a follow-on conversation with the president in which he claimed to have been unaware of Kelly's decision.

    Ari Fleischer
    @AriFleischer

    I've been on the receiving end of a Bob Woodward book. There were quotes in it I didn't like. But never once - never - did I think Woodward made it up. Anonymous sources have looser lips and may take liberties. But Woodward always plays is straight. Someone told it to him.
    9:31 AM - Sep 4, 2018

    Trump has been increasingly critical of anonymous sources used by reporters covering his administration. Woodward's account relies on so-called "deep background" conversations with sources, in which their identities are not disclosed.


    Jake Tapper
    @jaketapper

    · 3h

    Replying to @jaketapper
    John Dowd and Jay Sekulow went to Mueller's office and re-enacted the mock interview.

    Their goal: to argue that Trump couldn't possibly testify because he was incapable of telling the truth.

    "He just made something up. That's his nature," Dowd said to Mueller.

    Jake Tapper
    @jaketapper


    Woodward book confirms the Tillerson comment. Context was US troops in South Korea.

    Cohen: "What would you need in the region to sleep well at night?"

    Trump: "I wouldn't need a f---ing thing, And I'd sleep like a baby."

    Trump leaves.

    Tillerson: "He's a f---ing moron."
    9:07 AM - Sep 4, 2018



    Kate Brannen
    @K8brannen

    GROAN: “I’m not a staffer! I’ll never be a staffer. I’m the first daughter.” -- Ivanka Trump, according to Bob Woodward's new book.
    8:43 AM - Sep 4, 2018

    https://kfoxtv.com/news/nation-world/were-in-crazytown-woodward-book-says-trump-aide-privately-called-him-idiot
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  2. #2
    Senior Member Judy's Avatar
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    Bob Woodward: Trump's aides stole his papers 'to protect the country'

    By Jeremy Herb, Jamie Gangel and Dan Merica, CNN
    Updated 2:19 PM ET, Tue September 4, 2018

    (CNN)WARNING: This story contains graphic language.

    President Donald Trump's closest aides have taken extraordinary measures in the White House to try to stop what they saw as his most dangerous impulses, going so far as to swipe and hide papers from his desk so he wouldn't sign them, according to a new book from legendary journalist Bob Woodward.

    Woodward's 448-page book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," provides an unprecedented inside-the-room look through the eyes of the President's inner circle. From the Oval Office to the Situation Room to the White House residence, Woodward uses confidential background interviews to illustrate how some of the President's top advisers view him as a danger to national security and have sought to circumvent the commander in chief.

    Many of the feuds and daily clashes have been well documented, but the picture painted by Trump's confidants, senior staff and Cabinet officials reveal that many of them see an even more alarming situation — worse than previously known or understood. Woodward offers a devastating portrait of a dysfunctional Trump White House, detailing how senior aides — both current and former Trump administration officials — grew exasperated with the President and increasingly worried about his erratic behavior, ignorance and penchant for lying.

    Chief of staff John Kelly describes Trump as an "idiot" and "unhinged," Woodward reports. Defense Secretary James Mattis describes Trump as having the understanding of "a fifth or sixth grader." And Trump's former personal lawyer John Dowd describes the President as "a ****ing liar," telling Trump he would end up in an "orange jump suit" if he testified to special counsel Robert Mueller.

    "He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in crazytown," Kelly is quoted as saying at a staff meeting in his office. "I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had."

    CNN obtained a copy of Woodward's book, scheduled for release September 11. The explosive revelations about Trump from those closest to him are likely to play into the November midterm election battle. The book also has stunning new details about Trump's obsession with the Russia probe, describing for the first time confidential conversations between the President's lawyers and Mueller. It recounts a dramatic session in the White House residence in which Trump failed a mock Mueller interview with his lawyers.

    Woodward sums up the state of the Trump White House by writing that Trump was an "emotionally overwrought, mercurial and unpredictable leader." Woodward writes that the staff's decision to circumvent the President was "a nervous breakdown of the executive power of the most powerful country in the world."

    Circumventing the President

    The book opens with a dramatic scene. Former chief economic adviser Gary Cohn saw a draft letter he considered dangerous to national security on the Oval Office desk.

    The letter would have withdrawn the US from a critical trade agreement with South Korea. Trump's aides feared the fallout could jeopardize a top-secret national security program: the ability to detect a North Korean missile launch within just seven seconds.

    Woodward reports Cohn was "appalled" that Trump might sign the letter. "I stole it off his desk," Cohn told an associate. "I wouldn't let him see it. He's never going to see that document. Got to protect the country."

    Cohn was not alone. Former staff secretary Rob Porter worked with Cohn and used the same tactic on multiple occasions, Woodward writes. In addition to literally stealing or hiding documents from Trump's desk, they sought to stall and delay decisions or distract Trump from orders they thought would endanger national security.

    "A third of my job was trying to react to some of the really dangerous ideas that he had and try to give him reasons to believe that maybe they weren't such good ideas," said Porter, who as staff secretary handled the flow of presidential papers until he quit amid domestic violence allegations. He and others acted with the acquiescence of former chief of staff Reince Priebus, Woodward reports.

    Woodward describes repeated attempts to bypass Trump as "no less than an administrative coup d'état."

    The Russia obsession

    Woodward's book relies on hundreds of hours of taped interviews and dozens of sources in Trump's inner circle, as well as documents, files, diaries and memos, including a note handwritten by Trump himself. Woodward explains that he talked with sources on "deep background," meaning he could use all the information but not say who provided it.

    His reporting comes with the credibility of a long and storied history that separates this book from previous efforts on Trump. The author and Washington Post journalist has won two Pulitzer Prizes, including one for his coverage of the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation.

    In one revelatory anecdote, Woodward describes a scene in the White House residence. Trump's lawyer, convinced the President would perjure himself, put Trump through a test — a practice interview for the one he might have with Mueller. Trump failed, according to Dowd, but the President still insisted he should testify.

    Woodward writes that Dowd saw the "full nightmare" of a potential Mueller interview, and felt Trump acted like an "aggrieved Shakespearean king."

    But Trump seemed surprised at Dowd's reaction, Woodward writes. "You think I was struggling?" Trump asked.
    Then, in an even more remarkable move, Dowd and Trump's current personal attorney Jay Sekulow went to Mueller's office and re-enacted the mock interview. Their goal: to argue that Trump couldn't possibly testify because he was incapable of telling the truth.

    "He just made something up. That's his nature," Dowd said to Mueller.

    The passage is an unprecedented glimpse behind the scenes of Mueller's secretive operation — for the first time, Mueller's conversations with Trump's lawyers are captured.

    "I need the president's testimony," Mueller said. "What was his intent on Comey? ... I want to see if there was corrupt intent."

    Despite Dowd's efforts, Trump continued to insist he could testify. "I think the President of the United States cannot be seen taking the fifth," Trump said.

    Dowd's argument was stark: "There's no way you can get through these. ... Don't testify. It's either that or an orange jump suit."

    What he couldn't say to Trump, according to Woodward, was what Dowd believed to be true: "You're a ****ing liar."

    Trump's insults and humiliation

    Throughout the book, Woodward portrays the President as a man obsessed with his standing in the media and with his core supporters. Trump appears to be lonely and increasingly paranoid, often watching hours of television in the White House residence. "They're out to get me," Trump said of Mueller's team.

    Trump's closest advisers described him erupting in rage and profanity, and he seemed to enjoy humiliating others.
    "This guy is mentally retarded," Trump said of Sessions. "He's this dumb southerner," Trump told Porter, mocking Sessions by feigning a southern accent.

    Trump said that Priebus is "like a little rat. He just scurries around."

    And Trump demeaned former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to his face, when Giuliani was the only campaign surrogate willing to defend then-candidate Trump on television after the "Access Hollywood" tape, a bombshell video where Trump described sexually assaulting women.

    "Rudy, you're a baby," Trump told the man who is now his attorney. "I've never seen a worse defense of me in my life. They took your diaper off right there. You're like a little baby that needed to be changed. When are you going to be a man?"
    Trump's predecessors are not spared either. In a conversation with Sen. Lindsey Graham, Trump called President Barack Obama a "weak dick" for not acting in Syria, Woodward reports.

    National security concerns

    Woodward's book takes readers inside top-secret meetings. On July 27, 2017, Trump's national security leaders convened a gathering at "The Tank" in the Pentagon. The goal: an intervention to try to educate the President on the importance of allies and diplomacy.

    Trump's philosophy on diplomacy was personal. "This is all about leader versus leader. Man versus man. Me versus Kim," he said of North Korea.

    His inner circle was worried about "The Big Problem," Woodward writes: Trump's lack of understanding that his crusade to impose tariffs could endanger global security.

    But the meeting didn't go as planned.

    Trump went off on his generals. "You should be killing guys. You don't need a strategy to kill people," Trump said of Afghanistan.

    He questioned the wisdom of keeping US troops in South Korea.

    "So Mr. President," Cohn said to Trump, "what would you need in the region to sleep well at night?"

    "I wouldn't need a ****ing thing," the President said. "And I'd sleep like a baby."

    After Trump left the Tank, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared: "He's a ****ing moron

    The book provides the context for the now-infamous quote that marked the beginning of the end for Tillerson's tenure. Tillerson tried to downplay the dispute -- "I'm not going to deal with petty stuff like that," he said at a news conference after NBC reported the remark — but he was ultimately fired via tweet.

    Woodward also quotes an unnamed White House official who gave an even more dire assessment of the meeting: "It seems clear that many of the president's senior advisers, especially those in the national security realm, are extremely concerned with his erratic nature, his relative ignorance, his inability to learn, as well as what they consider his dangerous views."
    A recurrent theme in Woodward's book is Trump's seeming disregard for national security concerns because of his obsession with money — trade deficits and the cost of troops overseas.

    In meeting after meeting, Trump questions why the US has to pay for such a large troop presence in South Korea.
    "We're doing this in order to prevent World War III," Mattis, the defense secretary, bluntly explained to Trump at one January 2018 meeting, which prompted Mattis to tell close associates afterward that Trump had the understanding of a "fifth or sixth grader."

    Trump still wasn't convinced. "I think we could be so rich if we weren't stupid," he later said in the meeting, arguing the US was being played as "suckers," Woodward reports.

    The 'Ernest Hemingway' of Twitter

    Trump's tweets — and his infatuation with Twitter — are a theme throughout the book.

    Woodward reveals that Trump ordered printouts of his tweets and studied them to find out which ones were most popular. "The most effective tweets were often the most shocking," Woodward writes.

    Twitter was a source of great consternation for national security leaders, who feared — and warned Trump — "Twitter could get us into a war."

    Appalled by some of his more outrageous posts, Trump's aides tried to form a Twitter "committee" to vet the President's tweets, but they failed to stop their boss.

    Priebus, who was blindsided when Trump announced his firing on Twitter, referred to the presidential bedroom as "the devil's workshop" and called the early morning hours and Sunday night — a time of many news-breaking tweets — "the witching hour."

    Trump, however, saw himself as a Twitter wordsmith.

    "It's a good thing," Trump said when Twitter expanded its character count to 280, "but it's a bit of a shame because I was the Ernest Hemingway of 140 characters."

    'A zoo without walls'

    Finally, "Fear" is filled with slights, insults and takedowns from both family and staff that speak to the chaos, infighting and drama that Trump allows to fester around him.

    Both Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are targeted by the inner circle.

    There is a pointed shot at Ivanka from the President's now-ostracized chief strategist Steve Bannon, who frequently clashed with the first daughter and her husband.

    "You're nothing but a ****ing staffer!" Bannon screamed at Ivanka at a staff meeting, according to Woodward. "You walk around this place and act like you're in charge, and you're not. You're on staff!"

    "I'm not a staffer!" she shouted back. "I'll never be a staffer. I'm the first daughter" — she really used the title, Woodward writes — "and I'm never going to be a staffer!"

    Two of the harshest comments in the book are directed at Trump and come from his chiefs of staff

    After Trump's Charlottesville, Virginia, controversy, in which he failed to condemn white supremacists, Cohn tried to resign but was instead dressed down by Trump and accused of "treason."

    Kelly, who is Trump's current chief of staff, told Cohn afterward, according to notes Cohn made of the exchange: "If that was me, I would have taken that resignation letter and shoved it up his ass six different times."

    And Priebus, Trump's first chief of staff, encapsulated the White House and the thrust of Woodward's book by describing the administration as a place with "natural predators at the table."

    "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," Priebus is quoted as saying, "things start getting nasty and bloody."

    https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/04/polit...ear/index.html
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  3. #3
    Senior Member Judy's Avatar
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    LOL!! Woodward is such a loser. He so desperately wants another Watergate, but since there isn't one, he's now reduced himself to a gossipy old man selling unconfirmed anonymous potty talk.

    Pathetic.
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  4. #4
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    Transcript: Phone call between President Trump and journalist Bob Woodward

    By Aaron Blake
    September 4 at 12:05 PM

    Bob Woodward, an associate editor at The Washington Post, sought an interview with President Trump as he was writing “Fear,” a book about Trump’s presidency. Trump called Woodward in early August, after the manuscript had been completed, to say he wanted to participate.

    Over the course of 11-plus minutes, Trump repeatedly claimed his White House staff hadn’t informed him of Woodward’s interview request — despite also admitting Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had told him Woodward wanted to talk.

    He also started the phone call by saying Woodward had “always been fair” to him, but by the end he said the book would be “inaccurate.”


    This is a transcript of that call, with key sections highlighted and annotated. To see an annotation, click on the yellow, highlighted text.


    Trump: Hello, Bob.
    BW: President Trump, how are you?
    Trump: How are you? How are you doing? Okay?
    BW: Real well. I’m turning on my tape recorder, with your permission.
    Trump: Oh, that’s okay. That’s okay. I don’t mind that at all.
    BW: I’m sorry we missed the opportunity to talk for the book.
    Trump: Well, I just spoke with Kellyanne [Conway] and she asked me if I got a call. I never got a call. I never got a message. Who did you ask about speaking to me?
    BW: Well, about six people.
    Trump: They don’t tell me.
    BW: A senator. I talked to Kellyanne about it two and a half months ago.
    Trump: [?].
    BW: She came for lunch.
    Trump: Well, it’s too bad. Of course, you and I had a conversation a couple of years ago, and so that I think got you there a little bit. And we had a conversation many years ago, if you remember, in Trump Tower.
    BW: Yeah, I do.
    Trump: That has to be 20 years ago. And you were thinking about doing a book about me then, which is interesting. Who knew it would’ve been on this subject? Right? That was not in the cards at that time.
    BW: That’s right. Well, I’m sorry, I . ..
    Trump: I still remember that.
    BW: I spent a lot of time on this, talked to lots of people.
    Trump: All right. Good.
    BW: And as you know and are living, we are at a pivot point in history.
    Trump: Right.
    BW: And I would’ve liked to have done that, and I maximized my effort, and somehow it didn’t get to you, or . ..
    Trump: It’s really too bad, because nobody told me about it, and I would’ve loved to have spoken to you. You know I’m very open to you. I think you’ve always been fair. We’ll see what happens. But all I can say is the country is doing very well. We’re doing better economically just about than at any time. We’re doing better on unemployment maybe than ever. You know, I mean, if you look at the unemployment numbers, you’ve heard me say it. And we’re doing better on unemployment than just about ever. We’re having a lot of — a lot of companies are moving back into our country, which would’ve been unheard of two years ago. If the other administration or representatives of it had kept going, had kept — you know, if the other group had won, I will tell you, that you would have, I think you’d have a GDP of less than zero. I think we would’ve been going in the wrong direction. Because regulations are such a big part of what we’ve done, Bob.
    BW: Well, I understand that point of view. And as you know, it’s also a difficult time where the political system and you and my business is being tested.
    Trump: Yeah. Yeah.
    BW: I take it very seriously. I’ve done books on eight presidents, going back from Nixon to Obama.
    Trump: Right.
    BW: And I learned something about reporting, frankly, Mr. President.
    Trump: Good.
    BW: I’ve got to go talk to people and see them outside of the White House and outside of their offices, and gained a lot of insight and documentation. And it’s — you know, it’s a tough look at the world and your administration and you.
    Trump: Right. Well, I assume that means it’s going to be a negative book. But you know, I’m some — I’m sort of 50 percent used to that. [Laughter] That’s all right. Some are good and some are bad. Sounds like this is going to be a bad one.
    BW: It was a chance missed, and I don’t know how things work over there in terms of . ..
    Trump: Very well. We . ..
    BW: . . . getting to you.
    Trump: Well, if you would call Madeleine [Westerhout] in my office . . . Did you speak to Madeleine?
    BW: No, I didn’t. But I . ..
    Trump: Madeleine is the key. She’s the secret. Because she’s the person . ..
    BW: Well, I talked to Raj [Shah] about it. I talked to . . . I talked to Kellyanne.
    Trump: Well, a lot of them are afraid to come and talk, or — you know, they are busy. I’m busy. But I don’t mind talking to you. I would’ve spoken to you. I spoke to you 20 years [ago] and I spoke to you a year and a half or two years ago.
    [Listen to Woodward and Trump's call on The Post's "Can He Do That?" podcast]
    BW: A couple of years ago, I understand.
    Trump: And I certainly don’t mind talking to you, and I wish I could’ve spoken to you. But nobody called my office. I mean, you went through, I guess, different people. ...
    BW: Well, Mr. President, how can I spend all this time talking to people and — like Kellyanne and Raj and Republican senators?
    Trump: Who were the senators? No, they never called me about it.
    BW: Senator [Lindsey] Graham said he had talked to you about talking to me. Now, is that not true?
    Trump: Senator Graham actually mentioned it quickly in one meeting.
    BW: Yes. Well, see. And then nothing happened.
    Trump: That is true. That is true. Well, that — no, but that is true. Mentioned it quickly, not like, you know, and I would certainly have thought that maybe you would’ve called the office. But that’s okay. I’ll speak to Kellyanne. I am a little surprised that she wouldn’t have told me. In fact, she just walked in. [to Kellyanne] I’m talking to Bob Woodward. He said that he told you.
    Conway: Yes.
    Trump: About speaking to me. But you never told me. Why didn’t you tell me?
    Conway: [inaudible].
    Trump: I would’ve been very happy to speak to him. All right, so what are you going to do?
    BW: Well ...
    Trump: So I have another bad book coming out. Big deal.
    BW: . . . it goes on, and I . . . What you can count on is that I’ve been very careful. And Evelyn, are you on?
    EMD: Yes.
    BW: Evelyn Duffy, who’s my assistant, Mr. President.
    Trump: Hello, Evelyn.
    BW: She transcribed all the tapes because, with permission, I taped people for hundreds of hours.
    Trump: Good.
    BW: And I think there’s nothing in this book that doesn’t come from a firsthand source. Is that correct, Evelyn?
    EMD: I believe that’s —
    Trump: But are you naming names? Or do you just say sources?
    BW: Yeah, well, it names real incidents, so . ..
    Trump: No, but do you name sources? I mean, are you naming the people, or just say, people have said?
    BW: I say, at 2:00 on this day, the following happened, and everyone who’s there, including yourself, is quoted. And I’m sorry I didn’t get to ask you about these . ..
    Trump: I mean, you do know I’m doing a great job for the country. You do know that NATO now is going to pay billions and billions of dollars more, as an example, than anybody thought possible, that other presidents were unable to get more? And it was heading downward. You do know all of the things I’ve done and things that I’m doing? I’m in the process of making some of the greatest trade deals ever to be made. You do understand that stuff? I mean, I hope.
    BW: Certainly, I understand and I would’ve loved to go through a discussion with you about NATO, because this goes back to early in your administration and your concern about it, and the agreement that the countries have that they would increase their defense contribution, what is it, by the year 2024? And you know . . . So anyway, we are . ..
    Trump: Well, you know last year, if you see the secretary, [Jens] Stoltenberg, he said I believe $44 billion just last year, and that was from last year’s meeting. And this year it’s much more money they’ve agreed to put up. So it’s a tremendous amount of money. No other president has done it. It was heading down in the opposite direction. So I don’t know if you’re going to report it that way; probably not. But that’s too bad, but that’s all right, but you know, one of those things.
    BW: Everything is going to be factual. And it is not a good thing for my business, if I may say this to you, Mr. President, to the presidency, or to the country, to not have real, full exchanges on these. And I broke my spear on it trying to get to you.
    Trump: Well, other than Lindsey [Graham], who did quickly mention it, nobody mentioned it.
    BW: You say Kellyanne’s there, ask her.
    Trump: Nobody told me about it. Well, let me ask her. Why don’t you speak to Kellyanne. Ask her. She never told me about it.
    [Conway takes the phone.]
    BW: Kellyanne?
    Conway: Bob, how are you? Hi.
    BW: Hi. Remember two and a half months ago you came over and I laid out, I wanted to talk to the president? And you said you would get back to me?
    Conway: I do. And I put in the request. But you know, they — it was rejected. I can only take it so far. I guess I can bring it right to the president next time.
    BW: Yeah.
    Conway: But I try to follow all the protocols, or else I’m accused of being somebody who doesn’t follow protocol.
    BW: President Trump, I just want you to know I made every effort.
    Conway: But you had talked to [former White House communications director] Hope [Hicks], right, who said no?
    BW: Listen, I talked to anyone I could. [Laughs]
    Conway: You talked to a number of people and they all said no?
    BW: I talked to Raj.
    Conway: Raj.
    BW: He was going to work it out.
    Conway: Hope. [Me?].
    [The president says something in the background that is inaudible.]
    Conway: I said you tried talking to everybody? What about when you interviewed, like, other people? They all said yes? That they’d try?
    BW: Yeah, well, about six or seven people. I tried. And I couldn’t have — you and I spent a whole lunch on it, Kellyanne. And I said, I want to cover the substantive issues in foreign policy and domestic policy. And you said you would get back to me. Nothing.
    Conway: Yeah. So, I did. I presented it to the people here who make those decisions, but . ..
    BW: Who are the people?
    Conway: But anyway, I’ll give you back to the president. And I’m glad to hear that you tried through seven or eight different people. That’s good. You should tell him all the names. [Laughs] Thank you.
    Trump: But you never called for me. It would’ve been nice, Bob, if you called for me, in my office. I mean, I have a secretary. I have two, three secretaries. If you would’ve called directly — a lot of people are afraid . . . Raj, I hardly have . . . I don’t speak to Raj.
    BW: Kellyanne is a . ..
    Trump: I do, I do, and Kellyanne went to somebody, but she didn’t come to me.
    BW: Well, does she have access to you?
    Trump: And she should’ve come to me. She does have access to me. Absolutely. She has direct access, but she didn’t come to me. And you know what? That’s okay. I’ll just end up with another bad book. What can I tell you?
    BW: It’s surprising to me that these people — did Raj have access to you?
    Trump: Not really, but he would’ve been able to do it. But I have an office. You have the office number. I have an office that’s directly into my office.
    Conway: [inaudible in background]
    Trump: It doesn’t matter. Let me tell you what matters: The economy is the best it’s been in many, many decades. And it’s going to get a lot better. And the country is doing very well. That’s what’s important.
    BW: Yes, sir. I thought I would . ..
    Trump: We’re doing a good job.
    BW: . . . never kind of say, let’s not talk about this because the book is done to a president . ..
    Trump: Yeah, I know.
    BW: . . . and, but that’s the position we’re in. And it’s one I tried to avoid. You need to know I made maximum effort.
    Trump: All right. It’s too bad.
    BW: Yes, sir.
    Trump: I’m just hearing about it. And I heard — I did hear from Lindsey, but I’m just hearing about it. So we’re going to have a very inaccurate book, and that’s too bad. But I don’t blame you entirely.
    BW: No, it’s [?] — it’s going to be accurate, I promise.
    Trump: Yeah, okay. Well, accurate is that nobody’s ever done a better job than I’m doing as president. That I can tell you. So that’s . . . And that’s the way a lot of people feel that know what’s going on, and you’ll see that over the years. But a lot of people feel that, Bob.
    BW: I believe in our country, and because you’re our president, I wish you good luck.
    Trump: Okay. Thank you very much, Bob. I appreciate it. Bye.
    [Call ends]
    [Recording ends]

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=.79b575115c53
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  5. #5
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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  6. #6
    Senior Member Judy's Avatar
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    Just another bad book.
    A Nation Without Borders Is Not A Nation - Ronald Reagan
    Save America, Deport Congress! - Judy

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  7. #7
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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  8. #8
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    People that support Trump do not care what Woodward writes. They see their personal lives getting much better under the Trump administration after 8 years of "trying to get by" under the Socialist Democrats and Obama. Folks that get the boot off of their necks are less inclined to put their head down again, JMO.
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