Bob Woodward is in the middle of a massive PR tour promoting his new book, “Fear.”
But members of the Trump administration, including Generals John Kelly and James Mattis, immediately pushed back against claims he made about them.
And in a recent interview, Woodward just doubled-down by lobbing this shocking accusation at them both.
Bob Woodward claims in his new book that Mattis told “close associates that the president acted like — and had the understanding of — ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.’” John Kelly, Woodward claims, called the president an “idiot.”
Both men have denied the claims.
NBC’s Savannah Guthrie asked Woodward point blank about their denials.
“Are they lying?” Guthrie asked.
“They are not telling the truth,” Woodward said.
“These are political statements to protect their jobs. Totally understandable,” he continued.
WATCH:
“Are they lying?” @savannahguthrie asks about John Kelly and Mattis denying certain things they reportedly said about Trump
“They are not telling the truth.” –@realbobwoodward pic.twitter.com/TY8pH99fhI
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) September 10, 2018
Fox News’ Brit Hume notes that because Woodward doesn’t name his sources, it’s hard to evaluate his work.
In other words, while the claims can never be proven, it’s also hard to disprove them.
It’s basically the same technique he’s used to sell books about numerous administrations based on his Watergate fame as a top-notch journalist.
President Trump has called Woodward’s book a “joke.”
The Woodward book is a Joke – just another assault against me, in a barrage of assaults, using now disproven unnamed and anonymous sources. Many have already come forward to say the quotes by them, like the book, are fiction. Dems can’t stand losing. I’ll write the real book!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2018
Who do you believe: John Kelly and James Mattis, or Bob Woodward?
Let us know in the comments below!