The future of Trump Presidency

Political author Michael Wolff has stated that his book Fire and Fire: Inside the Trump White House has the potential to take down the Trump Presidency.

His book paints a chaotic White House and a President who is described as increasingly unstable.

Background

US President Donald Trump is a polarizing figure in world politics. He has found himself being criticized for his actions and his statements in the past. He has been accused of sexism, misogyny, racism and more. Business leaders like Elon Musk have left councils within the administration due to statements made by Trump. The President has also been criticized by Republicans for failing to forcefully condemn racism in the wake the alt-right rally that took place in Charlottesville in August 2017. Most recently, top athletes like LeBron James have condemned him.

US intelligence agencies believe that Russia had interfered in the US presidential elections. In May 2017, the Department of Justice (DoJ) appointed Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the investigation into the Russian interference and related matters. He is also investigating whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the elections. Three campaign aides including former Chairman of the Trump Presidential campaign, Paul Manafort, have been indicted. In addition, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about meetings with Russia's ambassador right before Donald Trump became President.

Michael Wolff is an American author, essayist, and journalist, and a regular columnist and contributor to USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter, and the UK edition of GQ.

Analysis

Author Michael Wolff has written a new political book called Fire and Fire: Inside the Trump White House. The book is a result of more than 200 interviews between the President, and some of his closest aides. Among the most explosive comments have been made by former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. He described the meeting that took place between Donald Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 Presidential campaign as “treasonous.”

The White House and the US President have strongly condemned the statements and the narrative described in the book. The White House has maintained that the anecdotes in the book are “fake news.” Despite the criticism from the administration, the book and the contents of the book have continued to generate international conversation about Trump’s controversial Presidency and his mental state. Michael Wolff himself has stated that his book could essentially bring down Trump’s Presidency. During one of the interviews he said, “I think one of the interesting effects of the book so far is a very clear emperor-has-no-clothes effect. The story that I have told seems to present this presidency in such a way that it says he can’t do his job. Suddenly everywhere people are going ‘oh my God, it’s true, he has no clothes’. That’s the background to the perception and the understanding that will finally end … this presidency.”

In Wolff’s book, the current administration is described as being chaotic and unable to handle large scale crises and depicts the current President as a childlike figure who responds to overstimulation with intense, reflexive outbursts. As a defense, Trump Tweeted, “Actually throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.” He also said he “would qualify as not smart, but genius ... and a very stable genius at that!”

However, it is not just the current administration questioning the facts in the book. New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman, and several other journalists and Washington insiders, do as well have questioned parts of the book. "I believe parts of it, and then there are other parts that are factually wrong," Haberman said. "He believes in larger truths and narratives. So he creates a narrative that is notionally true, that's conceptually true. The details are often wrong."

Wolff has defended the narrative in the book telling NBC, "I am certainly and absolutely in every way comfortable with everything I've reported in this book."

Meanwhile, Steve Bannon has tried to reverse some of the remarks has made towards Donald Trump Jr. He stated, “My comments were aimed at Paul Manafort, a seasoned campaign professional with experience and knowledge of how the Russians operate. He should have known they are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends. To reiterate, those comments were not aimed at Don Jr."

Assessment

Our assessment is that there is a growing narrative questioning the US President’s mental fitness to conduct himself and the duties of his office. Wolff’s book is yet another factor that has fed into the increased concern. The President’s frequents Tweets have not aided in allaying those fears. Trump’s approval ratings have also hit historic lows repeatedly through the course of his Presidency. It is likely, that he may not finish his term.