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Bob Woodward QUOTES

Bob Woodward QUOTES

161 " His attention span is like a minus number,” Fauci said privately. "

― Bob Woodward , Rage

162 " Throughout the day Trump would seek opinions from anyone who might be around—from cabinet officials to security guards. It was his form of crowdsourcing. He once asked Johnny McEntee, his 27-year-old body man, if he should send more troops to Afghanistan. “It doesn’t make any sense to me,” McEntee said. When Trump asked others in the West Wing, they often ducked: “I think you really ought to talk to H.R. about that because he’s the expert.” “No, no, no,” Trump said once, “I want to know what you think.” “I know what I read in the newspapers.” That was insufficient for the president. “No, I want to know what you think. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

163 " Cohn concluded that Trump just loved to pit people against each other. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

164 " Graham knew McCain hated Trump. He knew that in Washington, you had to deal with people who hated you. But he did not impart that particular piece of advice to the president. “My chief job is to keep John McCain calm,” Graham remarked. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell was “scared to death of John McCain. Because John knows no boundaries. He’ll pop our leadership as much as he’ll pop their leadership. And I will, at times, but mine’s more calculated. John’s just purely John. He’s just the world’s nicest man. And a media whore like me. Anyway, he’s a much nicer guy than I am. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

165 " He had expected political protection from his attorney general and was now left unprotected. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

166 " Trump defended what he had said. “It’s not as if one side has any sort of [monopoly] on hatred or on bigotry. It’s not as if any one group is at fault or anything like that. With the media, you’re never going to get a fair shake. Anything that you say or do is going to be criticized.” “You need to fix this,” Porter argued. “You don’t want to be perceived the way in which you’re being perceived now. You need to bring the country together.” That was the moral obligation. “There’s no upside to not directly condemn neo-Nazis and those that are motivated by racial animus. There is a huge rift in the country.” Porter played heavily to the president’s ego and desire to be at the center. He said that the president could be a kind of healer in chief, consoler in chief. “The country is counting on you rhetorically to help salve the wounds and point a direction forward,” Porter said. The president could inspire and uplift. He could make this about him, the redeemer. Trump did not push back but he didn’t say yes. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

167 " Everyone wants your position,” Trump continued. “I made a huge mistake giving it to you.” The president continued with venom. It was chilling. Cohn had never been talked to or treated like that in his life. “This is treason,” Trump said. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

168 " One day in the Oval Office, Cohn brought in the latest job numbers to Trump and Pence. “I have the most perfect job numbers you’re ever going to see,” Cohn said. “It’s all because of my tariffs,” Trump said. “They’re working.” Trump had yet to impose any tariffs, but he believed they were a good idea and knew Cohn disagreed with him. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

169 " Ryan began, on his own, to research how to deal with someone who is amoral and transactional. "

― Bob Woodward , Peril

170 " He watched a two-hour block of Fox News, and then most of the two-hour-long blocks of MSNBC and CNN that he had TiVo’d. He raged at the coverage as top aides came in and out—Priebus, Bannon, Kushner, McGahn, Cohn, Hicks and Porter. Why was Mueller picked? Trump asked. “He was just in here and I didn’t hire him for the FBI,” Trump raged. “Of course he’s got an axe to grind with me.” “Everybody’s trying to get me,” the president said. “It’s unfair. Now everybody’s saying I’m going to be impeached.” What are the powers of a special counsel? he asked. A special counsel had virtually unlimited power to investigate any possible crime, Porter said. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

171 " Ryan’s main takeaway: Do not humiliate Trump in public. Humiliating a narcissist risked real danger, a frantic lashing out if he felt threatened or criticized. Ryan tested "

― Bob Woodward , Peril

172 " Priebus realized that the president didn’t care that it was a goal, not an obligation. Trump cared that he could sell it and try to win over public opinion. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

173 " The president proceeded to lecture and insult the entire group about how they didn’t know anything when it came to defense or national security. It seems clear that many of the president’s senior advisers, especially those in the national security realm, are extremely concerned with his erratic nature, his relative ignorance, his inability to learn, as well as what they consider his dangerous views. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

174 " The tweets were not incidental to his presidency. They were central "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

175 " The major problem might be allegations of obstructing justice by urging Comey to drop the Flynn investigation, and then firing Comey. But Dowd believed that the president’s Article II constitutional authority clearly encompassed firing an FBI director. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

176 " the vice president was a counting clerk, period. "

― Bob Woodward , Peril

177 " Members of his staff had joined to purposefully block some of what they believed were the president’s most dangerous impulses. It was a nervous breakdown of the executive power of the most powerful country in the world. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

178 " He acted like doing too much advance preparation would diminish his skills in improvising. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

179 " the newspapers he read more thoroughly than the public generally knew. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House

180 " He doesn’t like intellectuals. Trump was a guy who “never went to class. Never got the syllabus. Never took a note. Never went to a lecture. The night before the final, he comes in at midnight from the fraternity house, puts on a pot of coffee, takes your notes, memorizes as much as he can, walks in at 8 in the morning and gets a C. "

― Bob Woodward , Fear: Trump in the White House