Fear: Trump in the White House

by Bob Woodward

major. As CentCom commander from 2010 to 2013, according to one senior aide, Mattis believed that Iran “remained the greatest threat to the United States interests in

discussed. “No way, no how,” Trump said. “This was on the campaign. We’re not backing off this. We’re signing it. Draw it up.” He signed the papers to formally withdraw on January 23, the first full weekday of his presidency. “The Trump trade agenda does indeed remain severely hobbled by political forces within the West Wing,” Peter Navarro, the White House assistant heading the National Trade Council, wrote in an Eyes Only two-page memo to the president and Chief of Staff Priebus on March 27, 2017. Navarro, who agreed with Trump’s view that trade deficits

hurting him. Hurting them. “You don’t think they should be here?” Trump asked several

administration as much trouble as it had given previous ones by hedging maddeningly on terrorism. Modi wanted to

forces found him hiding in a spider hole under a small shack.

ranks. It’s against our Values and everything we’ve stood for since 1775.” The Air Force and National Guard chiefs followed with

said, “that doesn’t matter.” It would take one of Trump’s personal lawyers, like John Dowd, saying, “Rob needs to go.” “I don’t know how much longer I can stay,” Gary Cohn

percent, 20 percent, 25 percent.” Good, solid numbers that would be easy to sell. Mnuchin, Cohn and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said there needed to be analysis, study and discussion on the impact on revenue, the deficit and the relation to expected federal spending. “I want to know what the numbers are going

Riyadh summit had been to form an alliance to shut down Iranian expansion

eight hours of television in a day. Think what your brain would be like if you did that? Bannon asked.

way to deal with those people is by being tough. And I’m going to

an attempt to turn the tables. Often the best defense was to go

who facilitated the discussion. When he had a strong view, he

strenuously as Porter made it. Chief of Staff John Kelly walked into the room midway through the meeting. The president was watching

wives went public with allegations that he had physically abused them. One released a photo showing a black eye that she said Porter gave her. Each, one to the press and one in a blog post,