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Bob Woodward on Monday defended the use of anonymous sources claims by President Trump that the veteran journalist's scathing is a "scam" filled with fictional quotes.
"These people are not anonymous to me," Woodward told NPR. "These things happened."
In an interview with NBC's "Today" show, he said Trump is "detached from reality."
"There's a war on truth by him," Woodward said. He says, "Oh, these are unnamed sources." But these are not unnamed incidents.
In excerpts published last week of "Fear: Trump in the White House," Woodward quote several times John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis – making disparaging comments about the president. According to the book, Mattis compared Trump's understanding of U.S. national security interests in the Korean Peninsula to that of "a fifth- or sixth-grader." Kelly is also portrayed as working for Trump thusly: "He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in Crazytown. I do not know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had. "
Both Kelly and Mattis released statements
"They are not telling the truth," Woodward countered. "These are political statements to protect their jobs."
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "(During Woodward's" Today "show interview, Trump tweeted a quote Nana's Savannah Guthrie questioning Woodward's use of anonymous sources and citing Mattis and Kelly's denials. Guthrie said.) "Data-reactd =" 29 "> (During Woodward's" Today "show interview, Trump tweeted a quote Nana's Savannah Guthrie questioning Woodward's use of anonymous sources and citing Mattis and Kelly's denials. The quote was not exactly what Guthrie said.)
"These are not unnamed incidents," Woodward continued. "The incidents are not anonymous; it gives a date, who participates – most often the president himself – and what he says. "
Woodward also said the internal dysfunction revealed by his book "not been treated seriously enough."
"Some of the things Trump did and did jeopardize the national security," Woodward said.
Woodward, who has authored critical books of the presidents of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning work with Carl Bernstein on the Scandal Watergate. Their reporting is widely credited to the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon.
While some trump reviews have been made in Woodward's book suggest the president is mentally unfit for office, Woodward would not go there.
"My job here is not to psychoanalyze," Woodward told Guthrie. "It's to describe what happened on specific dates, in specific moments. The people who are willing to talk are people of conscience, people of courage. "
Earlier Monday, Trump issued a series of tweets railing against Woodward 's book, which will be published Tuesday.
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "" The Woodward book is a Joke, " Trump tweeted. "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, like the book, are fiction. Dems can not stand losing. I'll write the real book! "" Data-reactid = "39"> "The Woodward book is a Joke," Trump tweeted. "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, like the book, are fiction. Dems can not stand losing. I'll write the real book! "
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "" The White House is a smooth running machine ' " he continued. "We are making some of the biggest and most important deals in our country's history – with many more to come! The Dems Are Going Crazy! "" Data-reactid = "40"> "The White House is a 'smooth running machine,'" he continued. "We are making some of the biggest and most important deals in our country's history – with many more to come! The Dems are going crazy! "
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The president then retweeted himself. "data-reactid =" 41 "> The president then retweeted himself.
<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Read more from Yahoo News:"data-reactid =" 42 ">Read more from Yahoo News:
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