close
Thursday March 28, 2024

Staff fails to stop Trump from writing outrageous twitter posts

By Sabir Shah
September 06, 2018

LAHORE: American President Donald Trump's staff had tried to form a Twitter "committee" to vet the US head of state's tweets, but they failed to stop their boss from inking down outrageous posts, writes legendary "Washington Post" journalist, Bob Woodward, in his 448-page book "Fear: Trump in the White House."

This book is scheduled for release on September 11. Winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, Bob Woodward is famous for his coverage of the Watergate scandal that had led to the-then US President Richard Nixon's resignation. The "CNN" further writes: "Trump's tweets — and his infatuation with Twitter — are a theme throughout the book. Woodward reveals that Trump ordered printouts of his tweets and studied them to find out which ones were most popular. "The most effective tweets were often the most shocking," Woodward writes. Twitter was a source of great consternation for national security leaders, who feared — and warned Trump — "Twitter could get us into a war."

The prestigious American media outlet adds: "Appalled by some of his more outrageous posts, Trump's aides tried to form a Twitter "committee" to vet the President's tweets, but they failed to stop their boss. Trump, however, saw himself as a Twitter wordsmith. "It's a good thing," Trump said when Twitter expanded its character count to 280, "but it's a bit of a shame because I was the Ernest Hemingway of 140 characters." Woodward's 448-page book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," provides an unprecedented inside-the-room look through the eyes of the President's inner circle. From the Oval Office to the Situation Room to the White House residence, Woodward uses confidential background interviews to illustrate how some of the President's top advisers view him as a danger to national security and have sought to circumvent the commander in chief."

President Donald Trump had reportedly called Bob Woodward on August 14, apparently because he was alarmed by reports that Woodward is publishing a new book about him.

Ernest Hemingway, students of English literature would know, was a famous American novelist and short story writer, acknowledged for his precise choice of words and is globally-acclaimed to be a master when it comes to omitting unnecessary details and yet describing every detail in form of a précis.

The CNN has reported more on Woodward's book: "President Trump's closest aides have taken extraordinary measures in the White House to try to stop what they saw as his most dangerous impulses, going so far as to swipe and hide papers from his desk so he wouldn't sign them. This book provides an unprecedented inside-the-room look through the eyes of the President's inner circle. From the Oval Office to the Situation Room to the White House residence, Woodward uses confidential background interviews to illustrate how some of the President's top advisers view him as a danger to national security and have sought to circumvent the commander in chief."

The "CNN" maintains: "Many of the feuds and daily clashes have been well documented, but the picture painted by Trump's confidants, senior staff and Cabinet officials reveal that many of them see an even more alarming situation — worse than previously known or understood. Woodward offers a devastating portrait of a dysfunctional Trump White House, detailing how senior aides — both current and former Trump administration officials — grew exasperated with the President and increasingly worried about his erratic behavior, ignorance and penchant for lying.

Chief of staff John Kelly describes Trump as an "idiot" and "unhinged," Woodward reports. Defense Secretary James Mattis describes Trump as having the understanding of "a fifth or sixth grader."

Meanwhile, as the CNN has reported, the White House accused Woodward of spreading "fabricated stories" about Trump.

The media house quoted White House press secretary Sarah Sanders as saying: "This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad. While it is not always pretty, and rare that the press actually covers it, President Trump has broken through the bureaucratic process to deliver unprecedented successes for the American people. Sometimes it is unconventional, but he always gets results."

Woodward, however, said he stood by his reporting in a statement obtained by CNN.

The news channel asserts: "He (Woodward) sums up the state of the Trump White House by writing that Trump was an "emotionally overwrought, mercurial and unpredictable leader." Woodward writes that the staff's decision to circumvent the President was "a nervous breakdown of the executive power of the most powerful country in the world."