Michael Wolff has doubled down on the explosive reporting in his new book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”
In an interview with “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie on Friday, Wolff said “100 percent of the people around [Trump]” have questioned the president’s intelligence and fitness for office.
According to Wolff’s interviews with dozens of people who have worked in the Trump White House, Wolff said senior officials say he’s a “moron, an idiot. Actually, there’s a competition to sort of get to the bottom line here of who this man is. Let’s remember, this man does not read, does not listen. So he’s like a pinball just shooting off the sides.”
“They all say he is like a child,” he added. “He has a need for immediate gratification. It’s all about him.”
Wolff also shot down questions about the accuracy of his reporting, including a dismissive tweet from Trump on Thursday night about the “phony” book “Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist.”
“My credibility is being questioned by a man who has less credibility than perhaps anyone who has walked on Earth at this point,” Wolff said, adding that after publishing many books in his long career, “I don’t believe there has ever been one correction.”
Despite Trump’s claim that “I never spoke to him for the book,” Wolff said he had about three hours of conversations with the president both during the campaign and in the White House.
I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist. Look at this guy’s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018
Wolff also said that he has recordings and notes of his conversations with White House officials, including the president. “I am certainly, absolutely in every way comfortable with everything reported in this book,” he said.
“One of the things we have to count on is that Donald Trump will attack, he will send lawyers letters,” Wolff said. “This is a 35-year history of how he approaches everything.”
On Thursday, Trump’s lawyer sent a cease and desist letter to Wolff and his publisher, Henry Holt, seeking to block publication of the book. The publisher responded by moving up the book’s release from next week due to “unprecedented” demand.
Watch the interview below.
WATCH: @SavannahGuthrie’s full interview with ‘Fire and Fury’ author @MichaelWolffNYC pic.twitter.com/pNUWx4nGbJ
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 5, 2018