Fear: Trump in the White House

[_Some Schmo]

The audio of the recording is yet another example where we don't need to rely on the media to tell us how the conversation went, leftist spin and all. We get to hear it first hand. And it's evidence like this that shows Drumpf is a liar, an asshole, and a fool.

But then , that's "conservatism" in 2018 America, isn't it?

[_grindael]

LIAR, LIAR, HAIR ON FIRE!

[_subgenius]

I haven't read any of the other Trump books, but this one I think, is a must read.

how many Woodward books have you read?

[_moksha]

LIAR, LIAR, HAIR ON FIRE!

[_Jersey Girl]

But how could all -- and I mean all -- of the reporting on this White House reach a striking similar conclusion? The portraits of Trump drawn by Wolff, Omarosa and Woodward are all eerily similar to one another --a man hopelessly out of his depth in the job, but entirely incapable of understanding how desperately out of depth he actually is. A man motivated almost entirely by personal grievance. A man willing to humiliate people who work for him, to play staffers against one another, to scapegoat underlings to keep blame off of himself. Someone who has so much self-belief that he rarely adequately prepares for situations involving international diplomacy and national security. Top aides who view that their jobs are primarily keeping Trump from causing serious harm, and grousing every step of the way about the man.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/04/politics ... index.html

[_aussieguy55]

I am around Trump's age and I have noticed little cognitive differences in my activities. Like repeating something to my wife, having to double check I have taken my tablets for blood pressure and cholesterol. It is scary if true those reports by his staff.

[_Chap]

Bob Woodward's book on Trump: The most explosive quotes.

Here's a look at some of the blockbuster revelations that have emerged so far from early excerpts of Woodward's book.

'I can stop this. I'll just take the paper off his desk' - Gary Cohn

Woodward describes several instances where Trump administration officials - chief economic adviser Gary Cohn and White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter, in particular - removed documents from the president's desk to keep Mr Trump from signing them.

It was all part of a larger effort to insulate the administration, and the nation, from what they saw as Mr Trump's more dangerous impulses. Documents that would have allowed the president to withdraw the nation from the North American Free Trade Agreement and a trade deal with South Korea were hidden - and the US has since committed to renegotiating the pacts.

Woodward describes these acts as "no less than an administrative coup d'etat".

'Don't testify. It's either that or an orange jumpsuit' - John Dowd

On 27 January, according to Woodward, the president's personal attorney John Dowd staged a mock interview session with the president to demonstrate what he feared would be the disastrous results if Mr Trump were to sit down with Robert Mueller's special counsel team investigating possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
It didn't go well, as the president grew increasingly frustrated with the intensity of the questioning, at one point angrily calling the investigation "a goddamn hoax".
Dowd would go on to meet Mr Mueller and reportedly tell him that he couldn't agree to the interview because he didn't want to let the president "look like an idiot" and embarrass the nation on the world stage.
When it later appeared that the president had changed his mind and was going to testify after all, Mr Dowd resigned.

'Let's [expletive] kill him. Let's go in' - Donald Trump


One of the sources of considerable consternation for the president's staff, per Woodward, was what they viewed as his dangerous impulses on foreign policy.
After the US believed the Syrian government had launched another chemical attack in April 2017, Mr Trump told Defence Secretary James Mattis to assassinate President Bashar Assad.
"Let's kill the [expletive] lot of them," the president reportedly said.
Mr Mattis acknowledged Mr Trump's request then, after the conversation, told an aide he wouldn't do "any of that".
Woodward says administration officials were also concerned when the president asked for plans for a pre-emptive military strike on North Korea during the height of his feud with Kim Jong-un. The president also dressed down top generals over their handling of the war in Afghanistan, saying that soldiers "on the ground" could do a better job.
"How many more deaths?" he asked. "How many more lost limbs? How much longer are we going to be there?"

'We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had' - John Kelly

Woodward paints a picture of a White House staff constantly beaten down and belittled by a temperamental president.
When White House economic adviser Cohn tried to resign after the president offered sympathetic comments about white nationalists who engaged in a violent August 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Mr Trump accused him of "treason". Cohn, according to Woodward, views the president as a "professional liar".
Mr Trump also told Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross he didn't trust him. "I don't want you doing any more negotiations," the president reportedly said. "You're past your prime."
He compared his first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, to a rat. "He just scurries around."
As for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who the president has publicly berated, privately he was even more disparaging.
"This guy is mentally retarded," Mr Trump reportedly told staff secretary Porter. "He's this dumb Southerner. He couldn't even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama".

'This was no longer a presidency. This is no longer a White House. This is a man being who he is' - Rob Porter

If the president was abusive toward his staff, it appears they have got some measure of revenge in the Woodward book, which is chock full of caustic quotes about the president attributed to the aides and advisers who serve him.

Chief of Staff Kelly repeatedly calls Mr Trump an "idiot" and said that "it's pointless to try to convince him of anything". Defence Secretary Mattis told an aide that the president has the foreign policy understanding of a "fifth- or sixth-grader" (an 11 or 12-year-old).

Mr Kelly's predecessor, Reince Priebus, describes the presidential bedroom suite as "the devil's workshop", where Mr Trump fires off intemperate tweets early in the morning and on weekends.
Mr Trump's relationship with Rex Tillerson reportedly never recovered after news accounts that the former secretary of state once called the president "an [expletive] moron". If that's the case, Woodward's book could cause serious damage within the White House in the coming days.

'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' - Donald Trump

In a pre-emptive strike against what is sure to be a furious White House pushback against the book, the Washington Post released an audio recording and transcript of a call the president made to Woodward in early August. In it, the president claims he was never contacted for an interview or informed of Woodward's soon-to-be-published work - an assertion the reporter successfully rebuts.
Mr Trump makes several attempts to steer conversation toward his foreign policy achievements and economic record as president.
"Nobody's ever done a better job than I'm doing as president," he says. "That I can tell you."
Woodward says through his interviews he "gained a lot of insight and documentation" - and that his book would be a "tough look at the world and your administration and you."
"I assume that means it's going to be a negative book," the president replies.
Woodward concludes the call by saying "I believe in our country, and because you're our president, I wish you good luck".
If his book is any indication, Woodward probably thinks Mr Trump will need all the luck he can get.

[_Some Schmo]

Woodward says through his interviews he "gained a lot of insight and documentation" - and that his book would be a "tough look at the world and your administration and you."
"I assume that means it's going to be a negative book," the president replies.

This is the most obvious Drumpf pattern: accurate = negative.

The main reason I think Drumpf is an idiot is that he claims he's smarter than everyone else, and his comments are transparently stupid. He attempts to hide his mistakes with the sophistication of an 8 year old. He's so stupid, he doesn't realize he's stupid. It's Dunning Kruger in full effect.

[_DarkHelmet]

But how could all -- and I mean all -- of the reporting on this White House reach a striking similar conclusion? The portraits of Trump drawn by Wolff, Omarosa and Woodward are all eerily similar to one another --a man hopelessly out of his depth in the job, but entirely incapable of understanding how desperately out of depth he actually is. A man motivated almost entirely by personal grievance. A man willing to humiliate people who work for him, to play staffers against one another, to scapegoat underlings to keep blame off of himself. Someone who has so much self-belief that he rarely adequately prepares for situations involving international diplomacy and national security. Top aides who view that their jobs are primarily keeping Trump from causing serious harm, and grousing every step of the way about the man.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/04/politics ... index.html

Woodward is so well respected that when his book corroborates the same behavior that was documented in Wolfe and Omarosa's books, it brings new credibility to those books. Another explanation for the consistency in all these accounts is that it's a deep state conspiracy to bring down Trump.

[_Some Schmo]

Woodward is so well respected that when his book corroborates the same behavior that was documented in Wolfe and Omarosa's books, it brings new credibility to those books. Another explanation for the consistency in all these accounts is that it's a deep state conspiracy to bring down Trump.

Omarosa is part of the deep state?

We're screwed.