FEAR-Trump in White House!

Bob Woodward, of the Woodward and Bernstein fame, whose investigations led to the disgraceful exit of President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal, is an internationally celebrated and recognised journalist whose credentials can never be doubted. He has written on every Presidency since Nixon's and just come out with one on the present incumbent. If he is right, the United States and the world face an imminent, dangerous emergency: There is an "unhinged liar," a "fifth grade" intellect and an aggrieved and abusive "Shakespearean king" raging in the Oval Office. That is the word, rendered by the ultimate Washington insider reporter, of some of Trump's closest aides who feel they must protect the commander in chief from himself and the world from him. A President who prizes loyalty and self-image above all is left exposed and isolated in his own White House, viewed with contempt by those who serve him and open to ridicule by others who see his swaggering, domineering brand as a front for inadequacy. The most serious question raised by Woodward's new book is the idea that the people in the Situation Room alongside Trump view him as so lacking in sophistication and judgment that they take extreme measures, described as an "administrative coup d'etat", to sidestep the threat they perceive he poses to national security. Given the rich texture of a book that drips with disdain for the President, there must be significant doubt whether top White House and administration staffers can just brazen out the storm and go on as before. All interviews have been recorded but the President, after getting denials from his close aides, has called the book "a work of fiction". Woodward's credibility of a lifetime of reporting and the sheer volume and staggering nature of the revelations contained in "Fear: Trump in the White House," are strong arguments as to its authenticity. If key figures such as chief of staff John Kelly, former top economic adviser Gary Cohn and Defense Secretary James Mattis are really intervening regularly to avert national security disasters, should this not be known? If his version of events, backed up by exhaustive interviews and tapes, is a real reflection of the situation, how much longer can Republicans, who have shielded Trump for nearly two years, continue to defend and sustain him? Then there is the impact on the President's mood and psyche. That could translate into a fury on Twitter, emotions that often translate into diatribes against top targets like Attorney General Jeff Sessions or special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. Woodward's new offering, which comes out next week, is different, and that, indeed, may make it even more damaging.