Donald Trump has called Michael Wolff a “total loser” in the growing war of words over the author’s explosive book about the White House.
An early batch of Fire And Fury: Inside The Trump White House has sold out at Waterstones “in minutes” on Friday, after its publication day was brought forward due to huge demand.
Its claims that Trump never wanted to be president and his staff view him as a child triggered a furious reaction from the White House.
Having threatened the publisher and former aide Steve Bannon - who is quoted extensively in the book - with legal action, Trump tweeted late on Friday evening to say Wolff had “made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book”.
The book’s most scathing comments about Trump and his family are from its chief source former Trump aide Steve Bannon, whom Trump called “sloppy Steve” in his latest tweet.
Bannon said in the book XXX
Trump has previously said Bannon “lost his mind” when he left the White House in August.
Ratcheting up his attack, Trump said Bannon “cried and begged for his job” and “has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone”.
The book’s release date was brought forward from January 10.
But with Amazon quoting an in-stock date of January 10, and many bookstores in the UK not expecting deliveries until next week, the small number of copies which landed at Waterstones Piccadilly on Friday “flew off the shelves in minutes”.
A spokeswoman for Waterstones told the Press Association: “We haven’t seen this level of interest in a political title in some time, and the media and customer interest in Fire And Fury in the UK, the US and elsewhere is indicative of the global fascination with President Trump and his administration.
“We are doing a brisk trade and we had a small but welcome early delivery to our Piccadilly shop, all copies of which, unsurprisingly, flew off the shelves in minutes.”
The new book is drawn from what he said was regular access to the West Wing and more than 200 interviews, including some three hours with Trump himself.
But some of the headline-making claims within the book have been denied.
Tony Blair called the claim het had warned Trump aides he might be being spied on British spies a “complete fabrication”.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson denied he had ever questioned Trump’s mental health, after the Wolff claimed he saw Trump as a child who needed “instant gratification”.
Wolff hit back at Trump’s claims that he lacked access to the White House and never spoke to the president.
The author told NBC: “What was I doing there if he didn’t want me to be there? I absolutely spoke to the president... It was not off the record.”
Wolff also defended himself on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme on Saturday.
After Nick Robinson put claims to Wolff that parts of the book were inaccurate.
Wolff said: “I am absolutely confident of my sources.”
He claimed Trump did not know the word “Brexit” when Wolff mentioned it to him two weeks before the referendum in 2016, though he backed the idea of it.
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