New Book, “Rage,” Exposes Communications Between Donald Trump And Kim Jong Un
In his new book, Bob Woodward promises an “essential document for any voter seeking an accurate inside view of the Trump years.” Woodward’s previous book about the Trump presidency, Fear: Trump In The White House, gave an account of Trump’s first years as president, based on interviews with Trump and those around him. This one expands to cover how Trump’s first few years in office drove the responses that would be so disastrous in 2020, and also draws on never-before-seen documents, including 25 letters exchanged between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Rage will be released on September 15. A release describes it as a peek at Trump’s responses to the crises he’s faced as president, and how they led to the disasters of this election year.
Rage goes behind the scenes like never before, with stunning new details about early national security decisions and operations and Trump’s moves as he faces a global pandemic, economic disaster and racial unrest…At key decision points, Rage shows how Trump’s responses to the crises of 2020 were rooted in the instincts, habits and style he developed during his first three years as president.
Trump decried Woodward’s previous book on his presidency and administration, calling it fake, maintaining that quotes were made up, and that neither the insults allegedly lobbed by him at his team, or the unflattering descriptions of him by those around him, could possibly be real.
The Woodward book has already been refuted and discredited by General (Secretary of Defense) James Mattis and General (Chief of Staff) John Kelly. Their quotes were made up frauds, a con on the public. Likewise other stories and quotes. Woodward is a Dem operative? Notice timing?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2018
The already discredited Woodward book, so many lies and phony sources, has me calling Jeff Sessions “mentally retarded” and “a dumb southerner.” I said NEITHER, never used those terms on anyone, including Jeff, and being a southerner is a GREAT thing. He made this up to divide!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018
The Woodward book is a scam. I don’t talk the way I am quoted. If I did I would not have been elected President. These quotes were made up. The author uses every trick in the book to demean and belittle. I wish the people could see the real facts – and our country is doing GREAT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2018
The Woodward book is a Joke – just another assault against me, in a barrage of assaults, using now disproven unnamed and anonymous sources. Many have already come forward to say the quotes by them, like the book, are fiction. Dems can’t stand losing. I’ll write the real book!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2018
Notably, none of the people named in Trump’s denials is still in his prior role. John Kelly, who, according to Woodward, called Trump an idiot, as Military Times documents, resigned as Trump’s Chief of Staff, months after Fear was published. Woodward says that James Mattis compared Trump to a “fifth or sixth grader.” Despite Trump’s denials, Mattis, too, left his position as Secretary of Defense by the end of the year. Jeff Sessions, who Trump denies insulting, left his position by the end of 2018 as well — and Trump engaged in a campaign to prevent his re-election as Senator in Alabama.
Big Senate Race in Alabama on Tuesday. Vote for @TTuberville, he is a winner who will never let you down. Jeff Sessions is a disaster who has let us all down. We don’t want him back in Washington!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2020
All of this points to Bob Woodward’s insights being rather on-point, and to them getting under Trump’s skin quite effectively. If Rage digs as deep as Fear did, voters can count on some revelations about the Trump White House before the November election.