Author Michael Wolff issued a statement Friday morning that he stands behind “absolutely everything” written in his provocative new book about President Donald Trump’s first year in office, which the White House has panned as “trash” and riddled with falsehoods, Politico informs.
“One of the things we have to count on is that Donald Trump will attack. He will send lawyer’s letters. This is a 35-year history of how he approaches everything,” Wolff told NBC’s “Today” show, speaking specifically about a cease-and-desist letter sent by the president’s lawyers to the book’s publishers and himself. “My credibility is being questioned by a man who has less credibility than perhaps anyone who has ever walked on Earth at this point.”
Contained in Wolff’s book is seemingly page after page of embarrassing descriptions of the West Wing as disorganized and backbiting, and of the president as ignorant, inept and, perhaps worst of all, possessing declining mental faculties. Some, like former deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh, have claimed they did not make the statements attributed to them in the book, while others, like former chief strategist Steve Bannon, have not disputed their remarks.
Wolff’s book had been scheduled for release later this month but was instead released Friday, a decision the publisher said was made based on “unprecedented demand.” Wolff himself said demands from the president’s lawyers that the book not be published had fueled interest in the book, asking “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, “where do I send the box of chocolates?”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at Thursday’s press briefing that the book was “complete fantasy and just full of tabloid gossip,” noting that Wolff had misreported the age of White House communications director Hope Hicks and suggesting that such a simple mistake was indicative of sloppy work. Trump himself, in a post to Twitter Thursday night, said he never spoke to Wolff for the book, which the president said was “full of lies,” and did not authorize White House access for the author.
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