President Donald Trump says journalist Bob Woodward's new book "Fear: Trump in the White House," is "nasty stuff," and is denying that certain scenes in the book occurred.
"It's just another bad book – he's had a lot of credibility problems," Trump told The Daily Caller in an exclusive interview published Tuesday. "I probably would have preferred to speak to him, but maybe not. I think it probably wouldn't have made a difference in the book. He wanted to write the book a certain way."
"It's just nasty stuff," added the president. "I never spoke to him. Maybe I wasn't given messages that he called. I probably would have spoken to him if he'd called, if he'd gotten through. For some reason, I didn't get messages on it."
Woodward's book is due to hit stores Sept. 11. In it, the investigative journalist levies allegations against the Trump administration and reveals a nervous breakdown of Trump's presidency through the eyes of the president's inner circle. Among the claims are stories of staffers compelled to withhold, and even steal, national security documents off Trump's desk to "protect the country."
"There was nobody taking anything from me," Trump told TDC.
The book also claims White House chief of staff John Kelly called the president an "idiot" during discussions with associates.
"The idea I ever called the president an idiot is not true," Kelly said in a statement. "As I stated back in May and still firmly stand behind: 'I spend more time with the president than anyone else, and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship.' He always knows where I stand, and he and I both know this story is total B.S."
Trump said the statements could have come from "disgruntled employees or just made up."
"It could just be made up by the author," he said.
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