Nearly canceling America’s involvement in a crucial trade deal. Believing diplomacy with North Korea comes down to his personal relationship with Kim Jong Un. Wanting to kill a foreign leader for using chemical weapons.

Those are just some of the surprising details about President Donald Trump in Bob Woodward’s anticipated book Fear. Excerpts have started to leak in multiple outlets, and they show how tumultuous — and potentially dangerous — Trump’s foreign policy has been.

The book comes out next week, which means the following accounts are still incomplete and devoid of full context. Still, the excerpts show how US foreign policy under Trump’s has nearly turned into a full-blown disaster on numerous occasions.

Below are just some of the major foreign policy and national security tidbits from the newly released excerpts of Woodward’s book.

1) Trump wanted to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

In April 2017, the US launched a cruise missile strike against a Syrian regime airbase — the first intentional US strike on Bashar al-Assad’s forces since the Syrian war began in 2011. The strike was in direct response to a chemical weapon attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun that killed at least 85 civilians.

But Woodward reports that Trump wanted the strikes to be a lot more punitive.

“Let’s fucking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the fucking lot of them,” Trump told Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, referring to Assad and his forces. After hanging up with Trump, according to Woodward, the secretary told one of his senior staffers: “We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured.”

Mattis’s more restrained response is what Trump ultimately authorized. But it’s completely possible that without Mattis’s intervention, the US would’ve launched a larger-scale strike to try to kill Assad. That would certainly have angered Assad’s main backer, Russia, and may have led to a broader Washington-Moscow confrontation.

So Trump is apparently fine with assassinating foreign leaders — at least in theory. That’s quite an insight into how Trump wants to use his military.

Perhaps that should be expected: In 2011, Trump said that former President Barack Obama should kill then-Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.

“Now we should go in, we should stop this guy, which would be very easy and very quick,” Trump said in a video blog. “We should do on a humanitarian basis, immediately go into Libya, knock this guy out ... and save the lives.”

2) Trump said America’s North Korea policy boils down to “Me versus Kim”

In the fall of 2017, Trump reportedly told top White House staffer Rob Porter about how he wanted to handle ongoing nuclear tensions with North Korea.

“This is all about leader versus leader. Man versus man. Me versus Kim,” Trump said.

One can kind of see Trump’s point here. The only person who really matters in North Korea is Kim, as he has near-complete control over his country. So if Trump wants Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons, he has to persuade Kim.

But the crux of the North Korea problem isn’t a relationship between two leaders. Rather, it’s how both countries can move beyond their impasse. Basically, Pyongyang wants the US to stop defending South Korea — like including it under its so-called nuclear umbrella — and Washington wants Pyongyang to dismantle its entire nuclear program. No amount of good feelings between the leaders can solve that problem.

In fact, that impasse is what’s led to a breakdown in US-North Korea talks since the Singapore summit in June. Two weeks ago, Trump canceled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s trip to North Korea over the disagreement.

One thing, however, is clear: The president still wants a friendly relationship with the North Korean dictator.

...Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

3) Trump tried to withdraw the US from a trade deal with South Korea

America’s strong relationship with South Korea boils down to two main components: defense and trade.

The greatest example of that second component is the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, under which both countries trade around $145 billion in goods and services a year mostly tariff-free. That deal helps the US keep its ally’s economy thriving, and maintains a key friend in the region — all while stimulating the US economy back home.

Yet it appears Trump was very close to removing the US from that agreement. According to Woodward, Trump had a letter on his desk that — had he signed it — would’ve withdrawn the US from the free-trade deal. Trump has previously expressed a desire to leave that accord.

Gary Cohn, then Trump’s top economic adviser, was so fearful Trump might sign it that he removed the letter from the president desk.

“I stole it off his desk,” Cohn told someone close to him. “I wouldn’t let him see it. He’s never going to see that document. Got to protect the country.”

Stealing documents, Woodward notes, is something Trump staffers repeatedly do to keep the president from harming US national security. Woodward described the tactic as “no less than an administrative coup d’état.”

There may have been serious repercussions had Trump signed the letter.

For one, the US would’ve lost a staunch ally and an important partner in talks with North Korea. Second, Seoul may have kicked out America’s roughly 28,500 troops from the country. And third, it likely may have hurt a secret US program to detect a North Korean missile launch within seven seconds.

Trump could still decide to withdraw from the deal in the future. If that’s the case, his staffers will surely have to give him a letter to sign.

4) Egypt’s president brought up the Russia investigation during a negotiation

It seems at least one world leader is paying close attention to the Robert Mueller probe.

The Trump administration worked with Egypt to release Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian-American aid worker, from captivity in April 2017. During a call with Trump to discuss her release, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made a startling comment.

“Donald, I’m worried about this investigation. Are you going to be around?” al-Sisi asked, according to Woodward. Trump told his then-top personal lawyer that his chat with Sisi was “like a kick in the nuts.”

Ultimately, Trump secured Hijazi’s release. But this episode brings up an important question: How many other leaders worry that Trump may not last in his position because of the probe? It’s possible US relations with other countries are somewhat on pause as leaders wait to find out the president’s fate.

If that’s the case, it’s a troubling position for the world’s most powerful person to be in.

5) Mattis thinks Trump acts like “a fifth- or sixth-grader”

Mattis almost never criticizes the president in public. In private, though, it seems to be a different story.

Woodward recounts that after a testy meeting on South Korea — in which Trump questioned why the US backs it financially and militarily — Mattis told associates that the president acted and understood things like “a fifth- or sixth-grader.”

“Secretaries of defense don’t always get to choose the president they work for,” Mattis reportedly joked to friends in another instance.

The Secretary denied making these statements. “The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward’s book were never uttered by me or in my presence,” Mattis said in a Tuesday statement.

The secretary has so far avoided Trump’s anger, in part because he keeps out of the spotlight by not making comments like that. But Woodward’s book threatens to put Mattis in Trump’s crosshairs — and therefore possibly out of the Pentagon soon.</s>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.

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.

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.

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.</s>Former national security advisorresigned22Michael Flynn resigned on February 13, after he admitted to give “incomplete information” to Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russia

Former national security advisorresigned22Michael Flynn resigned on February 13, after he admitted to give “incomplete information” ... more

Former deputy chief of staffresigned69Katie Walsh resigned on March 30 for an advisory position with political groups that support President Trump. less

Former deputy chief of staffresigned69Katie Walsh resigned on March 30 for an advisory position with political groups that support President ... more

Former communications directorresigned85Mike Dubke resigned on May 30, amid frustrations over the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election

Former communications directorresigned85Mike Dubke resigned on May 30, amid frustrations over the investigation into Russian meddling in the ... more

Former FBI directorfired109James Comey was fired on May 9 , amid his investigation of Trump’s campaign and if it had ties to Russia’s meddling.

Former deputy national security advisorresigned117K.T. McFarland was asked to resign on April 9 but became the U.S. ambassador to Singapore

Former deputy national security advisorresigned117K.T. McFarland was asked to resign on April 9 but became the U.S. ambassador to ... more

Former ethics office directorresigned180Walter Shaub wrote a letter of resignation on July 6 to President Trump following clashes with the Trump administration. less

Former ethics office directorresigned180Walter Shaub wrote a letter of resignation on July 6 to President Trump following clashes with the ... more

Sean Spicer Title: Press Secretary White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned shortly after Anthony Sacarmucci was appointed to the position of White House Communications Director.

White House Communications DirectorScaramucci was on the job for only six days when he resigned after the New Yorker published a detailed account of a phone conversation between reporter Ryan Lizza and a profane Scaramucci. The New York Times reported that Scaramucci was dumped on the request of new chief of staff John Kelly. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) less

White House Communications DirectorScaramucci was on the job for only six days when he resigned after the New Yorker published a detailed account of a phone conversation between ... more

Former chief of staffresigned189Reince Priebus resigned on July 28 and was replaced by John F. Kelly.

: Chief strategist: resigned: 210Steve Bannon and Chief of Staff John Kelly mutually resigned on Aug. 18, 2017. The announcement came after President Trump made comments about the violent clashes between white nationalists and anti-racist counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va. less

: Chief strategist: resigned: 210Steve Bannon and Chief of Staff John Kelly mutually resigned on Aug. 18, 2017. The announcement came after President Trump ... more

Deputy assistant to the presidentresigned217Gorka was a deputy adviser focused on national security and counterterrorism and he left just a week after Bannon's resignation. less

Deputy assistant to the presidentresigned217Gorka was a deputy adviser focused on national security and counterterrorism and he left just a week ... more

Secretary of Health and Human Servicesresigned252Price resigned following revelations that his travel on costly charter flights triggered investigations and angered Trump himself. less

Secretary of Health and Human Servicesresigned252Price resigned following revelations that his travel on costly charter flights triggered investigations and ... more

Director of Communications for the White House Office of Public LiaisonThe former reality star and Trump confidante said that she resigned, denying reports that she was fired and had to be removed from the White House. Manigault was in charge of outreach to historically black colleges and universities, but her day-to-day duties were something of a mystery. less

Director of Communications for the White House Office of Public LiaisonThe former reality star and Trump confidante said that she resigned, denying reports that she was fired ... more

Rob Porter Title: White House Staff Secretary Reason for leaving: Porter stepped down following allegations of domestic abuse by his two ex-wives.

Hicks was considered one of Trump's most loyal aides, before resigning in February of 2018. In a statement, the president praised Hicks for her work over the last three years. He says he "will miss having her by my side."The news came a day after Hicks was interviewed for nine hours by the panel investigating Russia interference in the 2016 election and contact between Trump's campaign and Russia. less

Hicks was considered one of Trump's most loyal aides, before resigning in February of 2018. In a statement, the president praised Hicks for her work over the last ... more

Secretary of StateSecretary of State Rex Tillerson bid farewell to the State Department in March of 2018. Tillerson reportedly fell out of favor with Trump and only learned of his firing when an aide showed him a tweet from the president announcing his replacement. less

Secretary of StateSecretary of State Rex Tillerson bid farewell to the State Department in March of 2018. Tillerson reportedly fell out of favor with Trump and only learned of his firing ... more

Director of the U.S. National Economic Council Cohn, the former president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, joined the Trump administration as the director of the U.S. National Economic Council. Cohn left the admistratiotn while he had been the leading internal opponent to Trump's planned tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. He has tried to orchestrate an eleventh-hour effort to push Trump to reverse course. less

Director of the U.S. National Economic Council Cohn, the former president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, joined the Trump administration as the director of the U.S. National ... more

President Trump announced McMaster's resigned nation via Twitter on March 22, 2018. McMaster replaced Gen. Mike Flynn, who resigned after 22 days with the administration. Former Bush-era United Nations Ambassador John Bolton was announced to replaced McMaster. less

President Trump announced McMaster's resigned nation via Twitter on March 22, 2018. McMaster replaced Gen. Mike Flynn, who resigned after 22 days with the ... more

President Donald Trump fired Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin on Wednesday in the wake of a bruising ethics scandal and a mounting rebellion within the agency. Shulkin is the second Cabinet secretary to depart over controversies involving expensive travel, following former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price's resignation in September of 2017. less

President Donald Trump fired Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin on Wednesday in the wake of a bruising ethics scandal and a mounting rebellion within the ... more

After months of reporting on potential ethics problems involving Pruitt, President Trump tweeted that he had accepted Pruitt's resignation on July 5th, 2018."Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this," Trump wrote.Pruitt had been accused of accepting a below market rate rent on an apartment owned by an oil industry executive and for using his office for personal benefit. less

After months of reporting on potential ethics problems involving Pruitt, President Trump tweeted that he had accepted Pruitt's resignation on July 5th, 2018."Within the ... more

White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly is shown at the White House on May 2, 2018 in Washington.

FILE - This June 11, 2012 file photo shows former Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward speaking during an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Watergate in Washington. Details are starting to come out from journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book on President Donald Trump’s first 18 months in office. less

FILE - This June 11, 2012 file photo shows former Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward speaking during an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Watergate in Washington. Details are starting to come out ... more

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and a new book by journalist Bob Woodward (all times local):

President Donald Trump is calling journalist Bob Woodward's explosive new book "nasty stuff," denying certain scenes in the book occurred.

Trump spoke to the conservative Daily Caller Tuesday after details emerged about the book.

Trump calls it "another bad book" and says Woodward has "a lot of credibility problems.

The president also denies that senior aides took sensitive documents from his desk, saying, "there was nobody taking anything from me."

"Fear: Trump in the White House" says Trump's chief of staff privately called him an "idiot" and presidential aides plucked documents off Trump's desk and thought he was often unaware of foreign policy basics.

Trump says he "probably would have preferred to speak to (Woodward), but maybe not. I think it probably wouldn't have made a difference in the book."

President Donald Trump's former attorney in the Russia investigation says scenes and comments in journalist Bob Woodward's explosive new book on Trump did not occur.

Dowd resigned from Trump's legal team in January. The book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," says he did so following a mock-interview he conducted with Trump in anticipation of sitting down with special counsel Robert Mueller.

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

In a statement issued Tuesday, Dowd says, "There was no so-called 'practice session' or 're-enactment' of a mock interview at the Special Counsel's office."

He adds: "Further, I did not refer to the President as a "liar" and did not say that he was likely to end up in an 'orange jump suit.'"

White House chief of staff John Kelly is denying an account in journalist Bob Woodward's new book that he called Trump an "idiot."

Kelly says, "The idea I ever called the president an idiot is not true."

In a separate statement, the White House is dismissing the book as "nothing more than fabricated stories."

Press secretary Sarah Sanders says in a statement: "This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad."

She adds that President Donald Trump's accomplishments don't get enough coverage in the press, saying "Democrats and their allies in the media understand the president's policies are working and with success like this, no one can beat him in 2020 - not even close."

An upcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward says President Donald Trump's chief of staff privately called him an "idiot" and presidential aides plucked sensitive documents off Trump's desk and thought he was often unaware of foreign policy basics.

Those are some of the explosive anecdotes in Woodward's book on Trump's first 18 months in office. The Washington Post on Tuesday published details from "Fear: Trump in the White House."

Woodward quotes an exasperated Chief of Staff John Kelly doubting 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 sit down with special counsel Robert Mueller.</s>Longtime sportswriter Rick Reilly has a new book set for release unlike anything he's written before.

Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump will be released in May, Hachette Books announced on Wednesday. The book is based off interviews with and observations from former playing partners and caddies of President Trump over the years.

Reilly gained national acclaim for his back page columns in Sports Illustrated in the early 2000's before moving to ESPN in 2008 to be a featured columnist and show host.

Reilly has written numerous books, including a handful about golf, such as 2003's Who's Your Caddy, where he details a round in which he caddied for Trump.

Commander in Cheat isn't the only book about Trump making headlines this week. Fear: Trump in the White House, by Watergate reporter Bob Woodward, has caused a stir after the Washington Post published excerpts of the book, which details chaos in the White House during the Trump administration.</s>(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening amped up his attacks on veteran journalist Bob Woodward, baselessly suggesting he is a Democratic operative because his new book portrays chaos and dysfunction inside the White House.

The tweet comes after CNN and The Washington Post reported on some of the book’s most explosive allegations, including disparaging comments Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House chief of staff John Kelly privately made about Trump and military actions the President sought to take against Syria and North Korea. Following statements of denial from Kelly, Mattis and others in the book, Trump suggested there was political motivation behind the timing of the book’s release.

“The Woodward book has already been refuted and discredited by General (Secretary of Defense) James Mattis and General (Chief of Staff) John Kelly,” Trump wrote. “Their quotes were made up frauds, a con on the public. Likewise other stories and quotes. Woodward is a Dem operative? Notice timing?”

Late Tuesday night, Trump denied a specific portion of the book about Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Woodward reported Trump called Sessions “mentally retarded” and a “dumb Southerner.”

“The already discredited Woodward book, so many lies and phony sources, has me calling Jeff Sessions ‘mentally retarded’ and ‘a dumb southerner,’ ” Trump tweeted. “I said NEITHER, never used those terms on anyone, including Jeff, and being a southerner is a GREAT thing. He made this up to divide!”

Woodward, however, said he stood by his reporting in a statement obtained by CNN’s Jamie Gangel.

Trump had earlier offered pushback on Tuesday in an interview with the conservative publication Daily Caller.

“It’s just another bad book. He’s had a lot of credibility problems,” Trump said of Woodward, who has reported on multiple presidents and alongside Carl Bernstein broke news of the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.

Trump on Tuesday also lamented the fact that he did not sit for an interview with Woodward before publication. Woodward sought through multiple White House officials and others close to Trump to secure an interview with him, to no avail.

Woodward’s 448-page book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” 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. It describes how 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.

Trump called the allegation that officials removed paperwork from his desk to prevent him from signing it “false” and “made up.”

Trump’s comments Tuesday followed a pair of statements the White House released generally panning the book.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called it “nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad.”

White House chief of staff John Kelly also rejected Woodward’s reporting that he called Trump an “idiot,” even though multiple outlets have also reported that Kelly has privately disparaged the President.

“The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true,” Kelly said in a statement hours after the report was released. Kelly added that he and the President “have an incredibly candid and strong relationship” and that “he and I both know this story is total BS.”

“This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration’s many successes,” Kelly said.

Mattis also denied the quotes attributed to him in Woodward’s book.

“The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward’s book were never uttered by me or in my presence. While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility,” Mattis said.

“In serving in this administration, the idea that I would show contempt for the elected commander in chief, President Trump, or tolerate disrespect to the office of the President from within our Department of Defense, is a product of someone’s rich imagination,” he added.

Trump’s former personal lawyer John Dowd also pushed back against allegations against him, including that he described the President as “a f—ing liar” and that he told Trump he would end up in an “orange jump suit” if he testified to special counsel Robert Mueller.

Dowd said he would not address every “inaccurate statement” attributed to him but did deny that he had called Trump a liar or that he would end up in an orange jumpsuit.

Woodward’s reporting is drawn from hundreds of hours of interviews with people with firsthand knowledge of the events he describes and quotes he includes are backed up by documentation he reviewed.

“When I have attributed exact quotations, thoughts or conclusions to the participants, that information comes from the person, a colleague with direct knowledge, or from meeting notes, personal diaries, files and government or personal documents,” Woodward wrote in a note to readers included in the book.</s>The White House hit back Tuesday after excerpts were released from a forthcoming book by veteran reporter Bob Woodward detailing a White House beset by infighting and facing an "administrative coup d'etat" in the ranks.

“This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Meanwhile, President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani blasted those officials talking trash to Woodward.

"If they said it, they should be questioning why they are there. Why don't they go get another job? That's the kind of disloyalty that leads to you leaving, not staying and undermining the president," Giuliani told CNBC.

An early copy of The Washington Post associate editor’s book was obtained by The Washington Post. According to the Post, it portrays a chaotic Trump White House filled with second-guessing by members of Trump’s staff, who repeatedly bad-mouth him behind closed doors.

The book is to be released on Sept. 11.

According to The Post, the book alleges that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told associates of the president that he had the understanding of “a fifth- or sixth-grader.” After Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical attack on Syrians in April 2017, Trump is said to have demanded Mattis launch an assassination attempt.

“Let’s f---ing kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the f---ing lot of them,” Trump reportedly said. But Mattis told an aide: “We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured.”

Mattis responded Tuesday: “The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward’s book were never uttered by me or in my presence. While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility.”

He continued: “In serving in this administration, the idea that I would show contempt for the elected Commander-in-Chief president Trump, or tolerate disrespect to the office of the President from within out Department of Defense, is a product of someone’s rich imagination.”

Former White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, meanwhile, is alleged to have stolen a letter from Trump’s desk that would have withdrawn the U.S. from a trade agreement with South Korea. Cohn is reported to have said that he did it to protect national security and that Trump didn't notice that it was missing.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is reported to have frequently lost his temper, and described Trump as “an idiot.”

“It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown,” Kelly said, according to Woodward. “I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had.”

On Tuesday, Kelly said that the account was false.

“The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true," he said in a statement. "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. I'm committed to the President, his agenda, and our country. This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration’s many successes."

Former Trump attorney John Dowd, meanwhile, denied claims that he held a practice session of a potential interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, called Trump a liar, and told Trump he could end up in an "orange jumpsuit" if he interviewed with Mueller.

He also said Woodward's book appears to be "the most recent in an endless cycle of accusations and misrepresentations based on anonymous statements from unknown malcontents."

Trump is reported not to have held back from criticism of members of his Cabinet. He allegedly called Attorney General Jeff Sessions a “traitor” for recusing himself from overseeing the Russia probe.

“This guy is mentally retarded. He’s this dumb Southerner. … He couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama,” Trump reportedly said.

Trump was not interviewed for the book, despite what Woodward said were repeated attempts to contact him. Trump called Woodward in August and told him that his staff hadn’t informed him of the request and expressed concern that the book would be “inaccurate.”

“So I have another bad book coming out,” Trump says, according to a tape of that conversation published by The Post. “Big deal."

Fox News' Kristin Brown, Jennifer Griffin and John Roberts contributed to this report.</s>(CNN) — 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 f—–g 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.”

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.”

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 f—–g liar.”

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 d–k” for not acting in Syria, Woodward reports.

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 f—–g 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 f—–g 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.

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.”

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 f—–g 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 a– 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.”</s>AN INCENDIARY TELL-all book has set off a firestorm in the White House, with its descriptions of current and former aides calling President Donald Trump an “idiot” and a “liar,” disparaging his judgment and claiming they plucked papers off his desk to prevent him from withdrawing from a pair of trade agreements.

The book by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward is the latest to throw the Trump administration into damage-control mode with explosive anecdotes and concerns about the commander in chief. The Associated Press obtained a copy of “Fear: Trump in the White House” yesterday, a week before its official release.

Trump has decried the quotes and stories in the book on Twitter as “frauds, a con on the public,” adding that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and chief of staff John Kelly had denied uttering quoted criticisms of the president in the book.

And he denied accounts in the book that senior aides snatched sensitive documents off his desk to keep him from making impulsive decisions. He said in an interview with The Daily Caller, “There was nobody taking anything from me”.

Later yesterday evening, Trump was back on Twitter denying the book’s claim that he had called Attorney General Jeff Sessions “mentally retarded” and “a dumb southerner”.

Trump insisted he “never used those terms on anyone, including Jeff,” adding that “being a southerner is a GREAT thing”. Sessions has been a target of the president’s wrath since recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

The publication of Woodward’s book has been anticipated for weeks, and current and former White House officials estimate that nearly all their colleagues cooperated with the famed Watergate journalist.

The White House, in a statement from press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, dismissed the book as “nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad”.

Woodward did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The book quotes Kelly as having doubts about Trump’s mental faculties, declaring during one meeting, “We’re in Crazytown”. It also says he called Trump an “idiot”, an account Kelly denied yesterday.

The book says Trump’s former lawyer in the Russia probe, John Dowd, doubted the president’s ability to avoid perjuring himself should he be interviewed in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and potential coordination with Trump’s campaign. Dowd, who stepped down in January, resigned after the mock interview, the book says.

“Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jumpsuit,” Dowd is quoted telling the president.

Dowd, in a statement yesterday, said “no so-called ‘practice session’ or ‘re-enactment’” took place and denied saying Trump was likely to end up in an orange jumpsuit.

Mattis is quoted explaining to Trump why the US maintains troops on the Korean Peninsula to monitor North Korea’s missile activities. “We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III,” Mattis said, according to the book.

The book recounts that Mattis told “close associates that the president acted like — and had the understanding of — ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader’”.

Mattis said in a statement, “The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward’s book were never uttered by me or in my presence”.

A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Rob Manning, said Mattis was never interviewed by Woodward.

“Mr Woodward never discussed or verified the alleged quotes included in his book with Secretary Mattis” or anyone within the Defense Department, Manning said.

Woodward reported that after Syria’s Bashar Assad launched a chemical weapons attack on civilians in April 2017, Trump called Mattis and said he wanted the Syrian leader taken out, saying: “Kill him! Let’s go in”.

Mattis assured Trump he would get right on it but then told a senior aide they’d do nothing of the kind, Woodward wrote. National security advisers instead developed options for the airstrike that Trump ultimately ordered.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley denied yesterday that Trump had ever planned to assassinate Assad. She told reporters at UN headquarters that she had been privy to conversations about the Syrian chemical weapons attacks, “and I have not once ever heard the president talk about assassinating Assad”.

She said people should take what is written in books about the president with “a grain of salt”.

Woodward also claims that Gary Cohn, the former director of the National Economic Council, boasted of removing papers from the president’s desk to prevent Trump from signing them into law, including efforts to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement and from a deal with South Korea.

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 and dismay that he did not have an opportunity to contribute. Woodward tells Trump he had contacted multiple officials to attempt to interview Trump and was rebuffed.

“I never spoke to him,” Trump told The Daily Caller.

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 that were 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-up conversation with the president in which he claimed to have been unaware of Kelly’s decision.

While White House aides have become increasingly numb to fresh scandals, the latest book still increased tensions in the West Wing, especially given the intimate details shared and the number of people Woodward appeared to have interviewed. Some White House officials expressed surprise at the number of erstwhile Trump loyalists willing to offer embarrassing stories of the president and his inner circle.

White House aides on Tuesday coordinated with other officials quoted in the book to dispute troublesome passages. But insiders speculated the fallout could be worse than that from Fire and Fury, given Woodward’s storied reputation.

Woodward’s book was already ranked the top-selling book on Amazon yesterday.</s>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.

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.

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.

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.</s>Bob Woodward, whose legendary reporting helped the Washington Post win two Pulitzer Prizes including one for uncovering the Watergate scandal, is set to publish a new book about the Trump administration on Sept. 11 titled Fear: Trump in the White House. The Washington Post and CNN obtained copies of the book and highlighted portions of it on Tuesday. Based on these early previews, it appears that some of the most shocking revelations concern Trump’s behavior toward members of his inner circle at the White House and what they say and do behind the president’s back. Here are the most eye-opening episodes involving the most prominent characters in the Trump administration.

Much of Woodward’s book describes Trump’s obsession with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the president’s 2016 campaign. At one point, Trump told Dowd that he had been on a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi concerning an imprisoned charity worker. The Egyptian president told Trump, “Donald, I’m worried about this investigation. Are you going to be around?” Trump described the call to Dowd as “a kick in the nuts.”

Trump has said in the past that he would happily testify in front of Mueller, but Dowd repeatedly tried to hold the president back while serving as his personal lawyer. Dowd went so far as to stage a rehearsal in January for Trump’s meeting with Mueller to prove that the president would be a terrible witness. Trump’s practice testimony was full of lies and contradictions, and he eventually became so irate that he launched into a 30-minute rant.

Dowd and Jay Sekulow, another Trump attorney, then visited Mueller’s office in March and re-enacted the rehearsal to explain why they would never allow the president to testify. At one point during the meeting, Dowd said, “He just made something up. That’s his nature.” Dowd also told Mueller, “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?’ ”

Trump, however, apparently believed that he had performed well during the mock interview. Later in March, Dowd flat-out told the president, “Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jumpsuit.” When Trump then told Dowd that he’d be “a real good witness,” Dowd replied, “You are not a good witness. … Mr. President, I’m afraid I just can’t help you.” Dowd quit the next day.

Fear recounts Mattis’ exasperation after several conversations with Trump concerning foreign policy in Asia and the Middle East. In April 2017, when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attacked civilians with chemical weapons, Trump called Mattis and urged, “Let’s fucking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the fucking lot of them.” The secretary outwardly agreed with the president over the phone, but then told his aide, “We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured.”

The president is also reportedly dead set on cutting national security costs and, during a January 2018 meeting, questioned why the U.S. has a military presence in the Korean Peninsula and a system to detect missiles from North Korea. “We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III,” Mattis told Trump. Woodward writes that after the meeting, Mattis told associates that “the president acted like—and had the understanding of—‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.’ ”

Reflecting on Trump’s behavior, Mattis commented to friends, “Secretaries of defense don’t always get to choose the president they work for.”

Woodward’s book opens with a scene in which Cohn discovers a letter on Trump’s desk that would have pulled the U.S. out of a major trade agreement with South Korea and possibly compromise a program designed to detect North Korean missiles. “I stole it off his desk … I wouldn’t let him see it. He’s never going to see that document. Got to protect the country,” Cohn reportedly told an associate. Cohn told former staff secretary Rob Porter that he was planning on pulling the same move with the draft of a letter that would have withdrawn the U.S. from NAFTA.

Fear also documents a series of volatile interactions between Cohn and Trump. During a meeting in which Trump suggested that the U.S. withdraw troops from South Korea, Cohn asked, “So Mr. President, what would you need in the region to sleep well at night?” Trump replied, “I wouldn’t need a fucking thing. And I’d sleep like a baby.” It was after this meeting that former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump “a fucking moron.”

Cohn resigned from his position in March, but he tried to do so earlier in 2017 after Trump’s disastrous “both sides” speech on the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Trump accused Cohn of “treason” and persuaded him to stay.

Woodward writes that Kelly is at the end of his rope with Trump. The current chief of staff told staffers that Trump is “unhinged” and said of the president in a small meeting, “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.” In response to Trump’s treatment of Cohn following the Charlottesville debacle, Kelly told Cohn, “If that was me, I would have taken that resignation letter and shoved it up his ass six different times.”

Porter reportedly conspired with Cohn to swipe documents off the Oval Office desk. “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,” Porter says in the book. The former staff secretary, who left after facing domestic abuse allegations, is also quoted as saying, “It felt like we were walking along the edge of the cliff perpetually. Other times, we would fall over the edge, and an action would be taken.” He further notes, “This was no longer a presidency. This is no longer a White House. This is a man being who he is.”

Trump has not been shy about publicly humiliating Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation and allowing the Justice Department to bring criminal charges against Republican congressmen. In private, however, the president is reportedly even more cruel. Using a Southern accent to mock Sessions, Trump told Porter, “This guy is mentally retarded. He’s this dumb Southerner. … He couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama.”

There have been no new details about the strained relationship between the president and his off-and-on adviser leaked from the book thus far, though Woodward does report on a fight between Bannon and Ivanka Trump. Enraged by Ivanka’s special access to the president early on in the administration, Bannon yelled at her, “You’re a goddamn staffer! … You walk around this place and act like you’re in charge, and you’re not. You’re on staff!” She yelled back, “I’m not a staffer! I’ll never be a staffer. I’m the first daughter.”

Giuliani was the only spokesperson willing to defend Trump after the release of the Access Hollywood tape during the 2016 campaign. Trump was, however, displeased with the former mayor’s performance and told him, “Rudy, you’re a baby. 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?”

At a dinner with national security officials, Trump denounced McCain as a coward, falsely claiming the naval aviator had accepted an early release offer when he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Mattis quickly retorted, “No, Mr. President, I think you’ve got it reversed,” and explained that McCain had actually refused to leave his comrades behind, a widely known episode that had earned McCain his reputation as a war hero.

Trump once enjoined Porter to ignore Priebus and said that he was “like a little rat. He just scurries around.” Priebus himself is quoted as saying that Trump officials are “natural predators” and elaborated, “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.” The former chief of staff also fretted about Trump’s Twitter habits, often referring to the president’s quarters in the White House residence as “the devil’s workshop” and Sunday night as “the witching hour,” because that’s often when Trump posts his most explosive tweets.

Trump belittled McMaster behind his back for looking “like a beer salesman” by dressing in cheap suits. Trump would pantomime McMaster’s mannerisms by breathing heavily and jutting out his chest.

Trump told Ross, “I don’t trust you. I don’t want you doing any more negotiations. … You’re past your prime.” The context of this comment is currently unclear.

And Kelly came out with his own denial of the book’s claims about him.

John Dowd also denied some of the characterizations of his statements in the book:
The new book of investigative journalist Bob Woodward, Fear, draws the ire of the White House.