Bob Woodward says a Trump official privately told him that his book is '1,000 percent' true — then said publicly that it's false


Bob Woodward is no shrinking violet.
The veteran reporter, whose book Fear about the Trump administration includes startling revelations about a White House in apparent disarray, spoke on The New York Times' podcast The Daily on Tuesday about the hubbub the book has caused over anonymous sourcing. Woodward said that last week, after excerpts from his book began to emerge online, a "key person who's in office" called him and said that his book is "1,000 percent correct" and that everyone who works for Trump knows it. But then, Woodward said, the same person turned around and said publicly that the book is not true at all.
Woodward went on to say that while this person's about-face angered him, he takes solace in the fact that eventually, "the truth in all of this is going to emerge." Woodward didn't name the person who called him last week, although he previously said on Today that Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis are not being honest when they deny the quotes attributed to them in the book. "These are political statements to protect their jobs," he said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fear is written in a way so that the reader never knows who gave Woodward the specific information being presented. Immediately after excerpts from it came out last week, President Trump reportedly began a desperate search to figure out who might have leaked information, while his administration claimed the book is full of stories made up by disgruntled employees.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs