Trump Fire and Fury book dodges ban with early release

The American publisher of a book alleging chaos in the White House has released advanced copies of it today, thwarting an attempt by Donald Trump’s lawyers to prevent its publication.

Washington's “political nerds” started queuing up at midnight to buy copies of the book, which is titled Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. These sold out quickly at Kramer Books in Washington DC, according to HuffPost. The Weekly Standard released a time-lapse video of the buying frenzy. Some are comparing it to a Harry Potter book launch.

CNN says the publishing date was brought forward by four days because of “unprecedented demand”. The decision came hours after Trump’s lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to publisher Henry Holt and Wolff.

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Wolff’s book questions the US president’s mental stability and fitness to serve, and quotes former adviser Steve Bannon accusing Donald Trump Jr of treason for meeting Russians during the 2016 election.

Trump tweeted that he hadn’t given author Michael Wolff access to the White House. Nor had he spoken to him in connection with the book, which he described as being “full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist”. The president also distanced himself from his ex-adviser, saying Bannon had “lost his mind”.

Wolff’s track record for accuracy has been debated in the mainstream press. At the start of the book, even the author says that sources are likely to have been lying to him.

But Ryan Greeney, who was standing in a queue to buy the book, told the HuffPost that “in a dispute over truth, I’m probably going to believe the author.”

Some are taking to Twitter to parody the book before it has even hit the shelves.

Published extracts have thrown the White House into a “frenzy”, The Guardian writes.

About 250,000 copies of Fire and Fury have already been shipped.

4 January

Steve Bannon has ‘lost his mind’, says Donald Trump

Donald Trump has “excommunicated” Breitbart editor Steve Bannon, says The New York Times, following a number of extraordinary claims made by the former White House chief strategist.

In a forthcoming book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, written by Michael Wolff, Bannon paints an unflattering portrait of the President and his family.

He calls Ivanka Trump “dumb as a brick” and describes the meeting between Donald Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”.

When asked about the likely outcome of the Russia investigation, Bannon said: “They’re going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.”

Trump responded with a scathing statement, distancing himself from his former aide and playing down his role in the campaign and at the White House.

“Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency,” Trump said. “When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.”

According to The New York Times, “Mr. Trump went through at least three drafts of a statement with his communications director, Hope Hicks, and other aides before sending out a final version unlike any issued by a president against a top adviser in modern times.”

Wolff’s book also suggests that Trump did not expect to beat Hillary Clinton, and that he was alarmed when he drew ahead of her.

“A befuddled Trump morphing into a disbelieving Trump and then into a horrified Trump,” is how Bannon describes him.

Wolff writes: “Shortly after 8pm on Election Night, when the unexpected trend – Trump might actually win – seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears – and not of joy.”

White House press secretary Sarah Saunders said the book is “filled with false and misleading accounts” and is “trashy tabloid fiction”.