# Excerpts from new Woodward book on Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 4, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745 "2018-09-04T16:01:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/62 "2018-09-05T23:01:24Z")
Trump referred to the author of the op-ed as 'gutless." Amazing, the one thing I can agree with Drumpf on! ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/63 "2018-09-05T23:05:34Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Does this book by itself change anything? Not much, but maybe a little. And in tandem with everything else, I think the book matters. The recent polls suggest that people might be starting to wake up a little, starting to realize that he needlessly waged a blood feud with a dead American hero because he’s a petty piece of shit - just like Woodward’s book and everyone else willing to speak on the record have said. It’s not that Woodward’s work changes everything, but it does corroborate everything that has been said before, and Woodward is arguably more credible than a Michael Wolff or Omarosa Manigault or even a James Comey. There comes a point where even skeptics have to acknowledge that everyone who knows Trump agrees: this guy ain’t normal. Agree. Unless and until someone brings forth evidence that a crime was committed or some law was broken, just the latest deflection for Teflon Don. The only upside is Deej is so easily baited that he’ll keep spending Tweet energy attacking critics so it will slightly lessen the damage he is doing to the country. Keep him occupied with this petty stuff he is so good at. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/64 "2018-09-06T00:43:57Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > Trump referred to the author of the op-ed as 'gutless." Amazing, the one thing I can agree with Drumpf on! “Gutless?” In an age where doxxing is an art form? They know they’ll be found out, sooner or later. In the meantime, hopefully they will continue to mitigate the disaster. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/65 "2018-09-06T01:01:06Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > …But being a clueless buffoon is part of his reality, not his brand. For people who think he’s playing 12th-dimensional chess, the idea that the Deep State is outmaneuvering him **by hiding things and hoping he forgets about them** might shake their confidence a little… My family used that strategy on several elderly relatives when the dementia started setting in. > [@Icarus](#): > > Nah, for this we need [Armando Iannucci](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0406334/?ref_=tt_ov_dr) of “Veep” and “The Death of Stalin”. He’s a master of political absurdity of the highest order. I’m reminded of that episode of **South Park** where they animated all the ridiculous crap about Xenu while flashing the disclaim “This is what Scientologists actually believe!” onscreen. > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > someone noticed the word “lodestar” in the op ed and then found 3 times Pence used that word. I don’t think it’s Pence but that word is not common at least from what I know. Well he’s the once person in the administration that Trump simply cannot fire, has the most to gain by Trump leaving office, and would be the one to start the process of invoking section 4 of the 25th Amendment. I don’t think it’s really Pence though (but I could picture Pence leaking other stuff). ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/66 "2018-09-06T01:10:29Z")
I think the Anonymous Opiner is committing a soft coup and, frankly, should be run out of town on a rail, not celebrated. Trump was elected. If we don’t think the election was straight, we need to do something about that. If we think he should be impeached, we need to do something about that. But what some in the administration are reported as or claiming to be doing is absolutely, fundamentally undemocratic and disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/67 "2018-09-06T01:12:32Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I think the Anonymous Opiner is committing a soft coup and, frankly, should be run out of town on a rail, not celebrated. Trump was elected. If we don’t think the election was straight, we need to do something about that. If we think he should be impeached, we need to do something about that. But what some in the administration are reported as or claiming to be doing is absolutely, fundamentally undemocratic and disgusting. It those things were happening to a normal President, I would agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/68 "2018-09-06T01:26:10Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I think the Anonymous Opiner is committing a soft coup and, frankly, should be run out of town on a rail, not celebrated. Trump was elected. If we don’t think the election was straight, we need to do something about that. If we think he should be impeached, we need to do something about that. But what some in the administration are reported as or claiming to be doing is absolutely, fundamentally undemocratic and disgusting. Nah. Let Trump bury himself with his stupid ideas. It will help take down the republicans that support him (there are some good republicans out there, but they need to get moving and stop this). We will survive, but only if he is taken out with impeachment and imprisonment. Don’t protect him. Let him screw up so bad, that there is no other recourse but to remove him. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/69 "2018-09-06T01:46:53Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I think the Anonymous Opiner is committing a soft coup and, frankly, should be run out of town on a rail, not celebrated. Trump was elected. If we don’t think the election was straight, we need to do something about that. If we think he should be impeached, we need to do something about that. But what some in the administration are reported as or claiming to be doing is absolutely, fundamentally undemocratic and disgusting. “Hey, remember how worried you were when an unstable lunatic got elected president? Don’t worry! His administration is being undermined by a cabal of unelected, anonymous officials who are using the vacuum in the Oval Office as an opportunity to enact their agenda without being accountable to anyone!” This should not make anybody feel better about anything. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/70 "2018-09-06T01:50:17Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I[f] those things were happening to a normal President, I would agree with you. IMHO such things wouldn’t **be** happening to a normal President. A normal President would have a Cabinet and White House staffers who were cooperating in a reasonably well-organized and supervised fashion to try to achieve specific goals of specific Administration policies. A high-ranking official who was trying to sabotage that process by surreptitiously sneaking papers off the President’s desk would be rapidly detected and fired, if not outright prosecuted. The only reason any of this “internal resistance” can be happening in the first place is that this Administration is a half-assed ill-assorted bunch of grifters, sleazy celebrity drama llamas, and experienced career staffers, all constantly threatened with the irrational hysterical displeasure of a “leader” who AFAICT is the most incompetent, ill-informed and uncivilized chief executive in the history of the Presidency. Their disorganization is compounded by the fact that [there are still hundreds of Administration positions requiring Senate confirmation left unfilled (at least two hundred of which the White House still hasn’t even nominated any candidate for)](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/04/after-500-days-dozens-of-white-house-jobs-remain-unfilled.html), along with [a massive dearth of lower-level staffers](https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/03/trump-administration-staff-vacancies-leave-career-civil-servants-in-place/), many of whose duties are being shouldered by remaining Obama-era appointees: > [@](#): > > A top Republican strategist who has worked on several presidential personnel teams told me that the Trump administration is running a very weak personnel office: > > It’s weak in every way. Lowest number of staff. Least experienced staff. Staff that didn’t support President Trump in 2016. You can blame the Senate for a lot, but that doesn’t excuse the other end of the pipeline. At this rate, we may have to wait for a Trump second term before key presidential appointments are filled. A normal President wouldn’t need to run disaffected insiders “out of town on a rail” for “committing a soft coup”, because a normal President’s insiders wouldn’t be **able** to succeed in committing a soft coup of this sort even if they wanted to, no matter how disaffected they were. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/71 "2018-09-06T01:55:35Z")
> [@andros](#): > > “Gutless?” In an age where doxxing is an art form? They know they’ll be found out, sooner or later. In the meantime, hopefully they will continue to mitigate the disaster. Yes, I stand by gutless. Going from the op-ed, he’s almost as much a whining little baby as Trump is. If he had the courage of his convictions, he’d sign his name. He’s (for convenience: \. Don’t mean to pre-suppose) trying to have it both ways. He’s trying to keep his job and his access to power, while trying to salve his tiny stunted little conscience. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/72 "2018-09-06T01:58:24Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I think the Anonymous Opiner is committing a soft coup and, frankly, should be run out of town on a rail, not celebrated. Trump was elected. If we don’t think the election was straight, we need to do something about that. If we think he should be impeached, we need to do something about that. But what some in the administration are reported as or claiming to be doing is absolutely, fundamentally undemocratic and disgusting. I agree completely. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/73 "2018-09-06T02:52:52Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > Yes, I stand by gutless. Going from the op-ed, he’s almost as much a whining little baby as Trump is. If he had the courage of his convictions, he’d sign his name. > > He’s (for convenience: \. Don’t mean to pre-suppose) trying to have it both ways. He’s trying to keep his job and his access to power, while trying to salve his tiny stunted little conscience. Fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/74 "2018-09-06T03:05:36Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Nah. Let Trump bury himself with his stupid ideas. It will help take down the republicans that support him (there are some good republicans out there, but they need to get moving and stop this). We will survive, but only if he is taken out with impeachment and imprisonment. Don’t protect him. Let him screw up so bad, that there is no other recourse but to remove him. Agreed, though if it came to the point where Trump was literally trying to start a war and launch nukes I’d very much prefer someone step in and stop him. I don’t care how. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/75 "2018-09-06T11:48:53Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > It those things were happening to a normal President, I would agree with you. If they are happening to any president while we sit around and titter and wink we are throwing democracy away, nudge by nudge. Every time we accept actions like this, we are accepting undermining elections in every bit as real a way as if we let Russians pick our leaders and hack voting machines. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/76 "2018-09-06T12:59:41Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “Hey, remember how worried you were when an unstable lunatic got elected president? Don’t worry! His administration is being undermined by a cabal of unelected, anonymous officials who are using the vacuum in the Oval Office as an opportunity to enact their agenda without being accountable to anyone!” > > This should not make anybody feel better about anything. It would make me feel better about moving to Canada, were I contemplating such a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/77 "2018-09-06T13:49:15Z")
Michael Moore says Gwen Stefani is the reason Trump ran for president. Strange enough to be true [Michael Moore Says Trump's Jealousy Of Gwen Stefani Led To Presidential Run | HuffPost Entertainment](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-moore-donald-trump-gwen-stefani_us_5b90f17ae4b0cf7b003cc3fb) ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745/78 "2018-09-06T18:48:38Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Michael Moore says Gwen Stefani is the reason Trump ran for president. Strange enough to be true > > [Michael Moore Says Trump's Jealousy Of Gwen Stefani Led To Presidential Run | HuffPost Entertainment](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-moore-donald-trump-gwen-stefani_us_5b90f17ae4b0cf7b003cc3fb) Well, back when he just started running, it was discussed that he was only doing it to raise his status in negotiating with NBC. He wasn’t REALLY running for President. But then he started to get traction! And he was also trying to start his own TV channel, because he thought he was going to lose. Again, part of the negotiation with NBC. But then he won! And here we are! WEEEEEEEEEE! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excerpts-from-new-woodward-book-on-trump/820745.md?page=3)