- Title: Woodward book 'Fear' about Trump White House hits store shelves
- Date: 11th September 2018
- Summary: WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES (FILE - APRIL 29, 2017) (REUTERS) JOURNALIST BOB WOODWARD AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER
- Embargoed: 25th September 2018 09:42
- Keywords: Bob Woodward Donald Trump Fear book launch
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0038X6NLTZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Bob Woodward's book 'Fear. Trump in the White House' hit store shelves at midnight on Tuesday (September 11).
'Fear' is the latest book to detail tension within the White House during Donald Trump's 20-month-old U.S. presidency.
In his book Woodward, who shot to fame more than 40 years ago for his reporting on the Watergate political scandal, portrays Trump as prone to profane outbursts and impulsive decision-making, with top aides worried the United States is one Trump tweet away from a national or economic security crisis.
Woodward in the book recounts how Defense Secretary James Mattis had to explain to Trump why the United States pays $3.5 billion a year to station 28,000 troops in South Korea, telling the president it was a key line of defense against North Korea to prevent "World War Three."
At one point, Trump drafted a tweet saying the United States planned to "pull our dependants from South Korea - family members of the 28,000 people there," Woodward told CBS.
The book also claims Trump wanted to have Syrian President Bashar al-Assad assassinated last year but his defense secretary, James Mattis, ignored the request.
When asked about the book on September 5, Trump said "The book means nothing; it's a work of fiction." - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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