Details from Bob Woodward's new book on Trump...you kinda just have to read the whole article

[ElectricBlanketFire]

It's insane.

John Dowd was convinced that President Trump would commit perjury if he talked to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. So, on Jan. 27, the president's then-personal attorney staged a practice session to try to make his point.

In the White House residence, Dowd peppered Trump with questions about the Russia investigation, provoking stumbles, contradictions and lies until the president eventually lost his cool.

"This thing's a goddamn hoax," Trump erupted at the start of a 30-minute rant that finished with him saying, "I don't really want to testify."

Woodward depicts Trump's anger and paranoia about the Russia inquiry as unrelenting, at times paralyzing the West Wing for entire days. Learning of the appointment of Mueller in May 2017, Trump groused, "Everybody's trying to get me"— part of a venting period that shellshocked aides compared to Richard Nixon's final days as president.

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Many more examples in the article.

 

[CesspoolofHatred]

Jesus Christ, Cohn had to straight up snatch papers from that stupid son of a bitch

 

[hydrophilic attack]

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.

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should probably just withdraw. what could go wrong

Mocking Sessions's accent, Trump added, "This guy is mentally retarded. He's this dumb Southerner. … He couldn't even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama."

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this comparison is very insulting to neuroatypical people

 

[Gorgamel]

This must be why Trump cancelled his golf outing yesterday. He must have gotten notified of this article regarding the book.

 

[MMBosstones86]

These snips are giving me life. Jesus

 

[jakoo]

Man....I kind of feel like a lot of the Trump books as of late have been cash-grabs but I might need to pick this one up. I re-read All The Presidents Men last year and it still holds up. Woodward da gawd.

 

[Regiruler]

My alma maters political science head is going to be all over this book. He loves Woodward's work.

 

[Deleted member 6645]

This article also really puts a spotlight on Mattis' interference in Trump's lunacy, also calling Trump a fifth or sixth-grader, so I'll be a little surprised if this doesn't trigger his firing.

After Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical attack on civilians in April 2017, Trump called Mattis and said he wanted to assassinate the dictator. "Let's fucking kill him! Let's go in. Let's kill the fucking lot of them," Trump said, according to Woodward.

Mattis told the president that he would get right on it. But after hanging up the phone, he told a senior aide: "We're not going to do any of that. We're going to be much more measured." The national security team developed options for the more conventional airstrike that Trump ultimately ordered.

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[Gentlemen]

Cohn, a Wall Street veteran, tried to tamp down Trump's strident nationalism regarding trade. According to Woodward, Cohn "stole a letter off Trump's desk" that the president was intending to sign to formally withdraw the United States from a trade agreement with South Korea. Cohn later told an associate that he removed the letter to protect national security and that Trump did not notice that it was missing.

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Cohn came to regard the president as "a professional liar" and threatened to resign in August 2017 over Trump's handling of a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Cohn, who is Jewish, was especially shaken when one of his daughters found a swastika on her college dorm room.

Trump was sharply criticized for initially saying that "both sides" were to blame. At the urging of advisers, he then condemned white supremacists and neo-Nazis, but almost immediately told aides, "That was the biggest fucking mistake I've made" and the "worst speech I've ever given," according to Woodward's account.

When Cohn met with Trump to deliver his resignation letter after Charlottesville, the president told him, "This is treason," and persuaded his economic adviser to stay on. Kelly then confided to Cohn that he shared Cohn's horror at Trump's handling of the tragedy — and shared Cohn's fury with Trump.

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This is what you have to endure to work for a white supremacist.

 

[DasRavenEra]

Just rewatched Game Change and this article reminds me of the palace intrigue in that campaigns.
When the movie of this administration is made, it will be full of "Special Relationship" and "Nicole Wallace" moments.

 

[Gentlemen]

holy shit

Later that month, [the president's then-personal attorney John] Dowd told Trump: "Don't testify. It's either that or an orange jumpsuit."

But Trump, concerned about the optics of a president refusing to testify and convinced that he could handle Mueller's questions, had by then decided otherwise.

"I'll be a real good witness," Trump told Dowd, according to Woodward.

"You are not a good witness," Dowd replied. "Mr. President, I'm afraid I just can't help you."

The next morning, Dowd resigned.

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A reminder that the current White House Counsel is resigning.

 

[B-Dubs]

We've got this thread already: https://www.resetera.com/threads/ev...rotect-the-country.66388/page-3#post-12235008