Fire and Fury. Inside the Trump White House, Little, Brown 2018.
- Written by Ludwig Watzal
One wonders how the public got so thrilled by a book that combines all the D. C. gossip and tittle-tattle between two boards, which the tabloids published about Trump's chaotic White House so far. The book was a media coup that only served the financial advantage of the author; it made him even more precious. The following statement says a lot about Michael Wolff's motives: "Seth Rich is dead and I am rich: man, what a great world! People want my book, not the truth about Rich." Rich's assassination is still in the dark, and it will never be solved. Cooperating with Wolff who as a journalist raises only eyebrows, sends a message to the readers that his sources are gossipers, and lots of stuff is just fantasy. The only substance came from Steve Bannon.
The whole book is only superficially about President Trump, but it tells more about Steve Bannon's character, self-aggrandizement, disappointment, rage, and fury over his dismissal from the White House. His disparaging comments about his boss and his family turns out to be his political suicide. President Trump serves just as bogyman which the media created from day one of his Presidency. Bannon behaves like someone falling from grace. Having realized his treason, he performs damage control but to little avail of his sacking from Breitbart News shows. As a so-called Chief Strategist, Bannon should have known that the political and media class loves the betrayal, but not the traitor. Politically, he is dust, but in the US even the opposite seems possible.
What Bannon tells about Trump's family (daughter Ivanka, son Don Jr., or Jarad Kushner) shows his political unprofessionalism, which was just "sloppy." Because Bannon lost the fight between "Jews and Non-Jews" in the White House, he branded the meeting with the Russian lawyer at Trump Tower as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic." Perhaps it was just politically naive.
When there has ever been "Russian collusion" then it was for the sake of Israel. General Flynn had to meet with the Russian ambassador to convince him to prevent the UN Security Council Resolution from passing. Because Israel was the leading cause, the mainstream media put this fact under the rug. The chapter on Russia is just about the Flynn affaire. No evidence for any collusion.
With the election of Donald Trump, the media pundits promised the American people another Hitler. Instead, they got another white Obama who was himself another more intelligently acting G.W. Bush. Hillary Clinton and her mafia-like DNC would have been only slightly different. The media crowd would have applauded her "intelligent" policy approach, whereas Trump, who does the same as Obama did, was demonized as another Hitler, Russian agent, lunatic, "moron," you name it. But the "Deep State," which consist of Democrats and their supporters, has Trump already in its clutches.
Such "looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book," writes Wolff. Perhaps this description holds also true for the story and the author himself. That such a scribbler has "a semi-permanent seat on a coach in the West Wing" or could play a fly on the wall over month puts the reputation of Wolff, the chaos and naiveté of the Trump White House on an equal footing.
What value does a book have whose author – a neoliberal journalist, who proudly proclaims that he aims to bring down Donald Trump? It seems that's the continuation of the Russia gate spin. Wolff's pseudo-journalist scribbling will be yesterday's news in a few weeks. It's all Washingtonian gossip and part of the disinformation campaign that has been going on since Trump took office. Plus a lot of inventions by the author for which he is famous.
Wolff admitted on Monday's "CBS This Morning" that he hasn't spoken to any cabinet member or the Vice President. Even his pretended interview with Trump turns out to be a hoax. They were just chatting "as so we were friends." Wolff just wants to show off how talented he is. After the first hype faded away, the author sounds like a total hack.
Wolff portrays Bannon as a victim of various intrigues by the Trump family in addition to that hinting indirectly that he is the primary informant of his book. Blaming the meeting between Kushner, Manafort and Don Jr. with the Russian lawyer at Trump tower, Bannon could have led a trail for Robert Mueller to dig into the families businesses in New York City. In this respect, the book can't be any worse than the Russia gate junk.
That the mainstream media gives credence to such a fictional work speaks volumes. Wolff is not only a savvy journalist but also a smooth customer. The only victim of this work of fiction is Steve Bannon. With his indiscreetness, He shot himself in the foot and retracted unprofessionally according to the motto to make the best out of a lousy job. It seems as if Bannon found a new financial promoter, a billionaire named Miles Kwok, also known as Geo Wen Gui. Apparently, Bannon and National Security adviser A. R. McMaster prevented his expulsion.
Wolff's book lacks substance. It's a compilation of gossip and story-telling. It won't change one jota of the people's opinion of Trump. No one is more responsible for his chaotic image than the US President himself.
Ludwig Watzal
