Fear: Trump In The Whitehouse Causes Controversy

Pulitzer prize winning journalist Bob Woodward has not so much ruffled feathers with his new book, Fear: Trump In The Whitehouse, as well and truly kicked the hornets nest. Woodward is a veteran journalist, most notable for his work regarding the infamous Watergate scandal. It is Woodward and colleague Carl Bernstein who deserve the vast majority of the credit for Richard Nixon being impeached, which says a great deal about the impact of journalism. As a whole, Woodward’s work is widely respected, and his reputation for delivering hard hatting facts, no matter how potentially damaging, is well earned.

The book Fear: Trump in the Whitehouse set out to unflinchingly portray occurrences in the Whitehouse for the first 18 months of Donald Trump taking the helm. The Washington Post was quick to publish details of the book, ahead of its official public release, and the general response has been nothing short of completely horrified. If anything, Woodward has taken already present fears of Trump and his potential impeachment, and escalated them to all new levels.

Like A Fifth Or Sixth Grader

A quick look at some of the content of the book is enough to put anyone’s hair on end, especially given the fact that Donald Trump is, lest we forget, the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world. The likely most commonly cited extract is that the United States President has the behaviour and temperament of a fifth or sixth grader.

The words were apparently spoken by Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis in an interview, explaining that during one meeting with Trump made he was made to feel that the President seemed to have the general understanding of a high school student. Though this is not even a fraction of the damning content of the book.

Other details explain that former director of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn purposefully removed vital documents from the president’s desk in order to avoid them being signed. This was done to prevent what would have resulted in drastic consequences for the country, based on fears that the president would take devastating actions with little regard for the consequences.

Fabricated Nonsense?

Of course, there are always two sides to a story, and it is no surprise that there have been hasty rebukes from Trump and other members of the Whitehouse. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Press Secretary for the Whitehouse, has been quick to declare the book as nothing more than lies and fabrications, largely the work of disgruntled ex-employees.

The president himself took to unleashing a tirade of anger on the book and its contents, in a fashion that has now become all but typical and expected. He out right declared the book to be largely a work of fiction, consisting of nothing but lies and phony sources. On the other hand, there has been little in the way of information offered by Trump that contradicts anything the book has claimed, and he has yet to point out any content he specifically considers to be a lie.

Meanwhile, Woodward has simply stated that he stands by his reporting in an interview with CNN. As already said, the book has yet to be released to the public. Yet controversy and drama has been lighting up every news outlet in the United States, and the world. Which is great publicity for a book, and should also be kept in mind.

Which is to say; Woodward is bound to be earning a mint off his new book, and he is likewise a man who is aware that the more controversy, the more going into his pocket. This in itself, however, does not mean that the contents of the book are untrue.

Alt image text:

Many faces of Trump revealed in new book
Anti Trump protestors

Image source:

https://pixabay.com/en/trump-trumpism-candidate-narcissist-1779709/
https://pixabay.com/en/people-man-woman-protest-rally-2574112/

Sources:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/05/politics/trump-woodward-book-leakers/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/05/politics/donald-trump-bob-woodward-fear/index.html
https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/books-magazines/books/the-most-stunning-revelations-from-bob-woodwards-book-on-the-trump-administration/news-story/e148da52a192f4a9807291fe25132aee
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/us/politics/trump-woodward-book-fear.html