In his new book, “Rage,” Bob Woodward said President Trump blasted U.S. generals for being overly concerned with allies, telling Peter Navarro, White House trade adviser, “My fucking generals are a bunch of pussies” who “care more about their alliances than they do about trade deals.”
Woodward’s book, published on 15 September, includes other “insights” into the president’s military views and relationships with top military officials. Some of them include:
- President Trump referred to the U.S. military as “suckers” for spending too much money protecting South Korea and told Mr. Woodward his view of South Korea was, “We’re defending you; we’re allowing you to exist.”
- When James “Mad Dog” Mattis, the retired four-star general appointed by President Trump as Secretary of Defense, resigned over the president’s plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria in 2018, Mr. Mattis said, “When I was basically directed to do something that I thought went beyond stupid to felony stupid, strategically jeopardizing our place in the world and everything else, that’s when I quit.”
- President Trump constantly complained about congressional investigations into his campaign and relationships with Russia and even spoke about his frustrations with Vladimir Putin. Woodward quotes the president: “Putin said to me in a meeting, he said, it’s a shame, because I know it’s very hard for you to make a deal with us. I said, you’re right.”
- President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, who resigned in July 2019, said he frequently clashed with the president over his soft approach to Putin and Russia and was often asked to help slow down congressional investigations.
The book also includes coverage on race relations. Woodward reportedly pressed President Trump about the topic and said they both were products of white privilege and how they had to work on seeing the black experience in the U.S.
To this, Trump responded, “No. You really drank the Kool-Aid, didn’t you? Just listen to you. Wow. I don’t feel that at all.”