Trump says he's 'exact opposite' of Woodward book
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump and journalist Bob Woodward's book (all times local):
7:40 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he is "the exact opposite" of Bob Woodward's portrayal of him in a new book.
Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to complain about the book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," which portrays White House Chief of State John Kelly disparaging Trump as an "idiot." The book says presidential aides snatched sensitive documents off his desk to keep him from making impulsive decisions.
Isn’t it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost. Don’t know why Washington politicians don’t change libel laws?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)The Whit> House says the portrayal of Trump is false, and blamed disgruntled former employees.
On Wednesday, Trump tweeted, "Isn't it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost."
He added, "Don't know why Washington politicians don't change libel laws?"
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Fox News she hasn't spoken with Trump about filing any libel lawsuit.
12:13 a.m.
President Donald Trump and members of his administration are disputing quotations and anecdotes attributed to them in a new book by journalist Bob Woodward in which the president is disparaged as an "idiot" and his White House as "Crazytown."
In his book "Fear: Trump in the White House," Woodward writes that that senior aides to Trump snatched sensitive documents off his desk to keep him from making impulsive decisions. Trump tells The Daily Caller that didn't happen.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is quoted in the book as telling associates that Trump acted like and has the understanding of "a fifth or sixth-grader." Chief of staff John Kelly is quoted as calling Trump "an idiot" and lamenting, "We're in Crazytown." Both officials denied those accounts in statements Tuesday.
.