Trump’s assault on Woodward riddled with contradictions

The president has slammed Woodward’s book as ‘fiction’ — even as he rails against former aides for leaking.

President Trump constantly rails against the “fake news media,” while continuing to sit with journalists in the Oval Office and even praise some of his favorite punching bags mid-swing. Credit: Andrew Harnik, AP Photo

President Donald Trump has called journalist Bob Woodward’s book on his administration a work of “fiction” and a “scam,” claiming that quotes in the book are “made up” and that the author is a “liar.”

At the same time, sources familiar with his thinking said he is livid at his former economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and his former staff secretary, Rob Porter, for “leaking” to Woodward.

It’s difficult to rationally argue that the book could be both: fiction dreamed up by Woodward, and a betrayal by former top stewards of the administration, who shared with the famed journalist alarming details about how the White House functions.

View the complete article by Annie Karni on the Politico.com website here.