President Donald Trump is "detached from reality" and jeopardizes "real national security," veteran journalist Bob Woodward said Monday in an interview on NBC's "Today."
"I've never seen an instance when the president is so detached from the reality of what's going on," said Woodward, The Washington Post editor and author of "Fear: Trump in the White House," which is set to be released Tuesday.
As part of his description of widespread White House dysfunction, Woodward recounted an incident in which the president complained about American troops in the Korean peninsula as his staff tried to explain their purpose.
"The idea that the Secretary of Defense [James Mattis] has to tell a president that all of these actions are designed to prevent the ultimate catastrophe, and Mattis goes on and says if we don't keep these programs, which are very sensitive, the only deterrent program we have will be the nuclear option," Woodward said.
Woodward added "this has not been treated seriously enough," saying "some of the things that Trump did and does jeopardizes the real national security."
Trump responded with a tweet within an hour, saying, "Bob Woodward is a liar who is like a Dem operative prior to the midterms. He was caught cold, even by NBC," quoting a question posed by the network. "It is mostly anonymous sources in here, why should anyone trust you? Gen. Mattis, Gen. Kelly said it's not true."
In the interview, Woodward rejected criticism his book relies entirely on unnamed sources and insiders have claimed his reporting is inaccurate.
"The incidents are not anonymous," Woodward said. "It gives a date, it gives a time, who participates, most often the president himself and what he says."
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