Fear: Trump in the White House(126)

In April, “Our gov’t is so pathetic”: View Trump’s tweet at https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/324590961827143681.

And in November, “Do not allow” : View Trump’s tweet at https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/403511109942247424.

And in December 2015, Trump tweeted: View Trump’s tweet at https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/679000573241393154.

White House coordinator: Bob Woodward, Obama’s Wars (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010), p. 361.

President Bush had publicly cited: Transcript, “President Bush Discusses the War in Iraq,” CQ Transcripts Wire, March 20, 2006.

In a May 31 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal : Erik D. Prince, “The MacArthur Model for Afghanistan,” The Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2017.

For years the CIA had run: Bob Woodward, Obama’s Wars (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010), p. 8.

On July 18, Trump had lunch: Ben Jacobs, “In Town Pool Report #3,” 1:12 p.m., July 18, 2017, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/report.php?pid=2365.

The National Security Council gathered: Author review of contemporaneous notes by a participant.

Later in the day those: Ibid.

That evening, Priebus hosted: Ibid.





CHAPTER 16


The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.

In February, Trump had called it: Donald J. Trump, “The President’s News Conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel,” February 15, 2017. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=123361.

As a candidate in 2016, he had said: Donald J. Trump, “Remarks at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC,” March 21, 2016. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=116597.

He directed that the short letter: “Tillerson: Iran Remains a Leading State Sponsor of Terror,” Breitbart News, April 20, 2017.

In a five-minute presentation, Tillerson: See Tillerson’s comments as part of the transcript of The Lead with Jake Tapper, CNN, April 19, 2017, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1704/19/cg.01.html.





CHAPTER 17


The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.

At a rally in June 2016: Full transcript: “Donald Trump’s Jobs Plan Speech,” Politico, June 28, 2016.

“This is the president’s vision”: Peter Coy, “After Defeating Cohn, Trump’s Trade Warrior Is on the Rise Again,” Bloomberg, March 8, 2018.

Each month Cohn brought: JOLTS numbers are publicly available at https://www.bls.gov/jlt/.

He came into the job with five-star: Foremost among those recommending him was Brett Kavanaugh, who had been staff secretary to President George W. Bush. Bush appointed Kavanaugh to a judgeship on the powerful District of Columbia Court of Appeals. He was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Trump on July 9, 2018.





CHAPTER 18


The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.

Bannon was convinced that Jared: See Emily Crane and Cheyenne Roundtree, “Donald’s Eruption in the Oval Office: Video Emerges of Trump’s ‘Furious Argument’ with Top Adviser Steven Bannon as Ivanka and Jared Look On, Hours Before President Made Phone Tapping Claims,” Daily Mail, March 5, 2017.

For his part, he was convinced: See Michael S. Schmidt, Matthew Rosenberg and Matt Apuzzo, “Kushner and Flynn Met with Russian Envoy in December, White House Says,” The New York Times, March 2, 2017.

The later event for Modi: Max Bearak, “Modi’s ‘No Frills’ Visit to Washington Masks a Potential Minefield,” The Washington Post, June 26, 2017.

In 2014 he said, “We mark”: Barack Obama, “Statement on the Elimination of Syria’s Declared Chemical Weapons Stockpile,” August 18, 2014. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=106702.

“We got 100 percent of the chemical”: John Kerry interview with David Gregory, Meet the Press, NBC, July 20, 2014.

In 2016, DNI Clapper said publicly: Peter Baker, “For Obama, Syria Chemical Attack Shows Risk of ‘Deals with Dictators,’?” The New York Times, April 9, 2017.

In a public statement on April 4: Donald J. Trump, “Statement on the Chemical Weapons Attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria,” April 4, 2017. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=123681.

Graham knew Trump-speak: The next day Putin called the attack an “illegal act of aggression” and canceled an agreement to prevent midair incidents between U.S. and Russian jets over Syria called deflection.

The next morning, Senator John McCain: “Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, Is Interviewed on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe,’?” Federal News Service, April 7, 2017.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, who had been: View Slaughter’s tweet at https://twitter.com/slaughteram/status/850263058756673540.





CHAPTER 19


The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.