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Aug 14, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Trump brands Woodward book as "FAKE" despite reportedly sitting for 17 interviews

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pic stitch of bob woodward and donald trump

Photos: Michael Kovac/Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

President Trump lashed out at journalist Bob Woodward's upcoming book "Rage," calling it "FAKE" in a pair of Friday tweets.

Why it matters: Trump participated extensively in Woodward's research for the book, sitting for 17 interviews at the White House, Mar-a-Lago and over the phone between December 2019 and late July 2020, CNN reported.

  • "Everybody does phony books on Donald Trump and Republicans, just like the Fake Dossier, which turned out to be a total fraud perpetrated by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC," the president tweeted.

The big picture: The book, a follow-up to Woodward's 2018 tome "Fear," is expected to have insider knowledge on Trump's recent thoughts and actions on national security, the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and the Black Lives Matter protests.

  • Woodward did hundreds of hours of interviews with first-hand witnesses in preparation, according to his publisher.
  • He also obtained notes, emails, diaries and calendars — as well as 25 previously unseen personal letters between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
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