Colbert Seeks Reassurance From Wolff, Gets 'Nothing'

'That's the alarming thing, that this is all true'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 9, 2018 10:10 AM CST

Michael Wolff says he's surprised by the success of his book Fire and Fury—alleging chaos in the Trump White House and citing aides questioning the president's mental state—because, well, "I thought we knew this." Appearing on the Late Show on Monday night, Wolff warned host Stephen Colbert that Trump was probably watching (a contact told Wolff the president asked for his media schedule for the day). Wolff (who is a co-founder of Newser) then admitted "there's nothing really too new in this book" since the administration's emphasis on the press has prompted leaks. Nonetheless, Colbert said the tell-all "upset" him. "As a citizen, I don't want any of it to be true," he said. "You should believe all of it," Wolff responded, per the Week. "That's the alarming thing, that this is all true."

Fellow journalists, however, are in doubt, having uncovered errors in Wolff's reporting. They also accuse him of "excessive dramatization," per Newsweek. Asked to present his recordings of interviews from the book, Wolff declined, telling Colbert, "I'm in the writing business." He went on to explain that the Trump White House is full of people "lying in their own particular way," so he used his "judgment" to decide "what versions of stories to include." He suggested readers should decide if the book's narrative lines up with what's already known about the Trump White House. At the end of the interview, Colbert asked the author for something administration officials "do well," noting "people gotta go to sleep after this." Wolff's response: "Nothing." (More Michael Wolff stories.)

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