Journalist Bob Woodward has a book out. It’s called “Fear.” You likely know this, because of the barrage of headlines it has caused.
The Washington Post, where Woodward is also an editor, obtained a copy of the book early. Here’s one of the topsheet anecdotes.
At a National Security Council meeting on Jan. 19, Trump disregarded the significance of the massive U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula, including a special intelligence operation that allows the United States to detect a North Korean missile launch in seven seconds vs. 15 minutes from Alaska, according to Woodward. Trump questioned why the government was spending resources in the region at all.
“We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told him.
After Trump left the meeting, Woodward recounts, “Mattis was particularly exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president acted like — and had the understanding of — ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.’ ”
These and other reports in the book look damaging for the Trump administration. Woodward’s latest work came out around the same time as the anonymous op-ed by “a senior Trump administration official” in The New York Times.
And the book is bankable. Woodward sold 750,000 copies on the first day “Fear” was available to purchase.
Woodward has written books on over 20 percent of American presidencies so he’s no stranger to controversy. What does this book, which uses information reported on “deep background,” tell us about what’s happening in the White House today?
Produced by Morgan Givens. Text by Gabrielle Healy.
GUESTS
Bob Woodward, Editor, “The Washington Post”; and author of more than a dozen books, including “All the President’s Men,” “Bush at War” and “Fear: Trump in the White House.” @realBobWoodward
For more, visit https://the1a.org.
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