On Jan. 5, media analyst Michael Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” was released to the public. The tell-all book shares Wolff’s insights into the past year of Trump’s presidency according to his and his sources’, accounts. One of which, most notably, is former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.
After receiving a cease and desist letter from one of President Trump’s lawyers, “Fire and Fury’s” publisher, Henry Holt & Co., chose to release the book four days prior to its original release date. “We see ‘Fire and Fury’ as an extraordinary contribution to our national discourse, and are proceeding with the publication of the book,” the publishing company told Time.
Since the release of the book, Trump and media outlets have questioned the legitimacy of some of the statements of the novel. Statements include—as listed in NPR’s review of the Wolff’s book—eating cheeseburgers in bed, having three TV’s in his room and his inner circle not respecting him. Perhaps the most discussed detail in the novel is Bannon’s remarks on Donald Trump Jr. He’s quoted saying that Trump Jr.’s meeting with a small group of Russians in 2016 was “treasonous” and “unpatriotic.”
Trump told fellow Republicans and the public on Jan. 6 that he considered it to be fictional. “I think it’s a disgrace that somebody is able to have something, do something like that. I did a quick interview with him, a long time ago, having to do with an article. But I don’t know this man. I guess sloppy Steve brought him into the White House quite a bit. And it was one of those things. That’s why sloppy Steve is now looking for a job,” President Trump said at Camp David.
The president also responded to the book on Twitter where he condemned the book’s claims and ensured his followers that he is “a very stable genius.”
On Jan. 7 Bannon released his official statement on the matter saying that the statements credited to him in Wolff’s book are untrue. “I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr. has diverted attention from the president’s historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency,” said Bannon in his statement to The New York Times.
Book reviews of the novel have even questioned the credibility of the novel. The New York Times pointed out some fact-checking mistakes and Wolff’s questionable source crediting, calling it “liberal catnip.” Slate called the book, “shotty journalism,” and NPR argued that Wolff was “fighting spectacle with spectacle.”
Wolff continues to stand by his statements in “Fire and Fury.” As of Jan. 12, the book debuted at number one in The New York Times nonfiction bestseller list and is also number one on Amazon.