The disturbing and disquieting accounts of the Trump White House laid out in Bob Woodward's new book have the president and other administration officials scrambling to fight back.
While the chaotic scenes described by Woodward are consistent with previous reports, Trump claimed Wednesday that he is "the exact opposite" of the bumbling, unprofessional and ignorant president portrayed in the forthcoming tome.
"Isn't it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost," Trump tweeted.
Woodward's "Fear: Trump in the White House" paints a picture of a West Wing in a state of utter dysfunction, staffed by officials who have no respect for the former reality TV star in the Oval Office. The Washington Post first published excerpts from the work on Tuesday.
Trump tweeted nine times about the book in less than 12 hours after the excerpts began appearing online.
White House chief of staff John Kelly, Defense Secretary James Mattis and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders all released statements disputing Woodward's reporting, with Mattis calling the book "a product of someone's rich imagination."
The book says presidential aides were forced to snatched sensitive documents off of Trump's desk in order to keep him from making dangerous and impulsive decisions.
Woodward writes that Kelly described the president as an "idiot," "unhinged" and told staffers in his office working for Trump was "the worst job I've ever had."
A frustrated Mattis reportedly told associates at one point that the president had the "understanding of _ 'a fifth- or sixth-grader.' "
Mattis also exploded on former press secretary Sean Spicer after being asked repeatedly to appear on Sunday morning talk show to defend the president, according to Woodward.
"'Sean,' Mattis finally said, 'I've killed people for a living. If you call me again, I'm going to f_-ing send you to Afghanistan. Are we clear?' "
In a stunning reveal, Woodward writes that Trump considered his attempts to walk back his widely condemned "both sides" remark regarding violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. last summer "the biggest f_-ing mistake I've made."
In the book, Trump blasts attorney and former mayor Rudy Giuliani after he appears on Sunday talk shows to defend then-candidate Trump in the wake of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape.
Calling Giuliani a "baby," Trump says: "I've never seen a worse defense of me in my life. They took your diaper off right there. You're like a little baby that needed to be changed. When are you going to be a man?"
Giuliani disputed the account and claimed Wednesday that Woodward failed to question him about the claim. "His incident about me entirely false. 20 to 30 witnesses saw it and can say he or his source are liars. Most important for libel purposes, he never called me," Giuliani tweeted. "Didn't want to know truth."
Trump openly suggested Wednesday that Congress should change libel laws so that he would be better positioned to seek "retribution" against Woodward.
"Don't know why Washington politicians don't change libel laws?" he tweeted.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Fox News she hasn't spoken with Trump about filing any libel lawsuit.
Woodward, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, says he stands by his work.
Former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer defended the author's reporting as well.
"I've been on the receiving end of a Bob Woodward book," he tweeted Tuesday. "There were quotes in it I didn't like. But never once _ never _ did I think Woodward made it up."
He added: "Anonymous sources have looser lips and may take liberties. But Woodward always plays it straight. Someone told it to him."
