In one of his most recent tweets, the American president has attacked again the widely debated Fire and Fury book on his stay at the White House, saying it is phony and made in collaboration with his "sloppy" campaign manager Steve Bannon, who, once fired, reportedly pleaded for a job.
Responding to insanity allegations coming out en masse on social networks, Trump said the two most important assets throughout his life have been mental stability and being "really smart". This, he noted, led him to become president on the very first try, which may qualify as "genius", most "stable genius" at that, he said.
Michael Wolff, the author of the book on Trump’s first year in office, stands by every detail stated in it saying in an interview with NBC's TODAY show on Friday he had spent about three hours with Trump during his election campaign and spoke to his aides who communicated with the then presidential candidate on daily and even a minute-to-minute basis. He noted "he absolutely spoke to the president" then, which irrespective of what Trump thought of it was recorded, making the author "in every way comfortable" with everything he reported in his book.
Speaking to BBC on Saturday, Wolff pointed to "a very clear emperor-has-no-clothes effect" of his book as one of the interesting sides to it.
"That's the background to the perception and the understanding that will finally end… this presidency," he concluded.
What is Michael Wolff Known For?
Wolff, 64, has been covering the media industry as a contributing columnist for Vanity Fair, the Hollywood Reporter and other news outlets, including Newsweek and USA Today.
Most famously, Wolff came up with a story on media mogul Rupert Murdoch in his 2010 book The Man Who Owns the News. Murdoch raised objections about the biography back then.
The most recent of Wolff’s books, Fire and Fury, released on Friday four days ahead of schedule, has already earned a lot of controversy, though hitting record sales on Amazon and in retail bookshops, prompting analogies with the launch of a Harry Potter book.
Fire and Fury: What It Is All About
The White House has dismissed the newly released book as "tabloid gossip" full of "lies" and some vocal critics, Trump among them, have even cast doubt on Wolff’s credibility, following the publication of several excerpts in the Guardian on Wednesday.
"My credibility is being questioned by a man who has less credibility than perhaps anyone who has ever walked on earth at this point," he said.
Responding to the White House’s backlash, Wolff said: "I will quote Steve Bannon: 'He's lost it.'" He went on still further saying Trump's scrutiny with regard to the book and his contribution to the hype around it help it sell like hot cakes.
A recurring theme in Fire and Fury is whether Trump is actually fit for his position. Wolff suggested that even the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and daughter, Ivanka Trump, are hardly demonstrating any faith.
"Certainly Jared and Ivanka, in their current situation, which is a deep legal quagmire, are putting everything on the president," he said. "'Not us, it’s him.'" Citing his speakers, Wolff pointed out to Trump's childlike, or rather childish desire to get gratification without delay, which is common in their descriptions.
READ MORE: Fire and Fury: Trump Slams Upcoming Book on White House Over Its 'Phony' Plot
Amid the backlash from the White House, the central figure in the story, Trump's campaign chief executive Steve Brannon, seems to get increasingly isolated. On Thursday night his principal sponsor, billionaire Rebekah Mercer, publicly withdrew her patronage, which is regarded as a strong blow to Bannon's plans to back a range of candidates in the upcoming midterm elections. Breitbart News was also advised to "look at and consider" toppling Bannon as its executive chairman. Referring to the news, on Friday Trump tweeted his appraisal of "dumping" "the leaker" — "sloppy" Steve Brannon.