09-04-2018, 05:59 PM
partial transcript via the Washington Examiner:
It was the first time that the president and Woodward had spoken about the book. The fact that Trump was not interviewed for “Fear” is not the fault of the reporter, who tried repeatedly to gain access to the president. It’s the fault of Trump's inner circle.
It's hard to pinpoint the weirdest part of the phone call.
There’s the revelation that Trump’s own people failed to tell him Woodward wanted an interview. There’s the revelation that both deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah and councilor to the president Kellyanne Conway appear to have limited access to the president. There’s also the part where the president spent the entire call either blaming Woodward for the White House’s failures or touting his accomplishments as president. Trump brags about unemployment numbers. He brags about his NATO deals. He even brags about the GDP (because he thought this would convince Woodward to reconsider how the book portrays the president?).
The phone call, which Woodward recorded with the president’s consent, ends with Trump explaining that the book can’t possibly be accurate because Woodward didn't interview him.
It’s all as weird as it sounds. Here are the most relevant passages, via the Washington Post:
Bob Woodward: I’m sorry we missed the opportunity to talk for the book.
Trump: Well, I just spoke with Kellyanne [Conway] and she asked me if I got a call. I never got a call. I never got a message. Who did you ask about speaking to me?
BW: Well, about six people.
Trump: They don’t tell me.
BW: A senator. I talked to Kellyanne about it two and a half months ago.
Trump: [?].
BW: She came for lunch.
Trump: Well, it’s too bad. Of course, you and I had a conversation a couple of years ago, and so that I think got you there a little bit. And we had a conversation many years ago, if you remember, in Trump Tower.
[…]
BW: And as you know and are living, we are at a pivot point in history.
Trump: Right.
BW: And I would’ve liked to have done that, and I maximized my effort, and somehow it didn’t get to you, or . ..
Trump: It’s really too bad, because nobody told me about it, and I would’ve loved to have spoken to you. You know I’m very open to you. I think you’ve always been fair. We’ll see what happens. But all I can say is the country is doing very well. We’re doing better economically just about than at any time. We’re doing better on unemployment maybe than ever. You know, I mean, if you look at the unemployment numbers, you’ve heard me say it. And we’re doing better on unemployment than just about ever. We’re having a lot of — a lot of companies are moving back into our country, which would’ve been unheard of two years ago. If the other administration or representatives of it had kept going, had kept — you know, if the other group had won, I will tell you, that you would have, I think you’d have a GDP of less than zero. I think we would’ve been going in the wrong direction. Because regulations are such a big part of what we’ve done, Bob.
[…]
BW: Well, Mr. President, how can I spend all this time talking to people and — like Kellyanne and Raj and Republican senators?
Trump: Who were the senators? No, they never called me about it.
BW: Senator [Lindsey] Graham said he had talked to you about talking to me. Now, is that not true?
Trump: Senator Graham actually mentioned it quickly in one meeting.
BW: Yes. Well, see. And then nothing happened.
Trump: That is true. That is true. Well, that — no, but that is true. Mentioned it quickly, not like, you know, and I would certainly have thought that maybe you would’ve called the office. But that’s okay. I’ll speak to Kellyanne. I am a little surprised that she wouldn’t have told me. In fact, she just walked in. [to Kellyanne] I’m talking to Bob Woodward. He said that he told you.
Then there’s the part where Conway herself walked in on the president during the phone call, and he handed her the line:
Conway: I said you tried talking to everybody? What about when you interviewed, like, other people? They all said yes? That they’d try?
BW: Yeah, well, about six or seven people. I tried. And I couldn’t have — you and I spent a whole lunch on it, Kellyanne. And I said, I want to cover the substantive issues in foreign policy and domestic policy. And you said you would get back to me. Nothing.
Conway: Yeah. So, I did. I presented it to the people here who make those decisions, but . ..
BW: Who are the people?
Conway: But anyway, I’ll give you back to the president. And I’m glad to hear that you tried through seven or eight different people. That’s good. You should tell him all the names. [Laughs] Thank you.
Conway left the conversation, putting Trump back in the position of scolding Woodward for not doing more to reach him.
Trump: It doesn’t matter. Let me tell you what matters: The economy is the best it’s been in many, many decades. And it’s going to get a lot better. And the country is doing very well. That’s what’s important.
BW: Yes, sir. I thought I would . ..
Trump: We’re doing a good job.
BW: . . . never kind of say, let’s not talk about this because the book is done to a president . ..
Trump: Yeah, I know.
BW: . . . and, but that’s the position we’re in. And it’s one I tried to avoid. You need to know I made maximum effort.
Trump: All right. It’s too bad.
BW: Yes, sir.
Trump: I’m just hearing about it. And I heard — I did hear from Lindsey, but I’m just hearing about it. So we’re going to have a very inaccurate book, and that’s too bad. But I don’t blame you entirely.
BW: No, it’s [?] — it’s going to be accurate, I promise.
Trump: Yeah, okay. Well, accurate is that nobody’s ever done a better job than I’m doing as president. That I can tell you. So that’s . . . And that’s the way a lot of people feel that know what’s going on, and you’ll see that over the years. But a lot of people feel that, Bob.
BW: I believe in our country, and because you’re our president, I wish you good luck.
Trump: Okay. Thank you very much, Bob. I appreciate it. Bye.
It was the first time that the president and Woodward had spoken about the book. The fact that Trump was not interviewed for “Fear” is not the fault of the reporter, who tried repeatedly to gain access to the president. It’s the fault of Trump's inner circle.
It's hard to pinpoint the weirdest part of the phone call.
There’s the revelation that Trump’s own people failed to tell him Woodward wanted an interview. There’s the revelation that both deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah and councilor to the president Kellyanne Conway appear to have limited access to the president. There’s also the part where the president spent the entire call either blaming Woodward for the White House’s failures or touting his accomplishments as president. Trump brags about unemployment numbers. He brags about his NATO deals. He even brags about the GDP (because he thought this would convince Woodward to reconsider how the book portrays the president?).
The phone call, which Woodward recorded with the president’s consent, ends with Trump explaining that the book can’t possibly be accurate because Woodward didn't interview him.
It’s all as weird as it sounds. Here are the most relevant passages, via the Washington Post:
Bob Woodward: I’m sorry we missed the opportunity to talk for the book.
Trump: Well, I just spoke with Kellyanne [Conway] and she asked me if I got a call. I never got a call. I never got a message. Who did you ask about speaking to me?
BW: Well, about six people.
Trump: They don’t tell me.
BW: A senator. I talked to Kellyanne about it two and a half months ago.
Trump: [?].
BW: She came for lunch.
Trump: Well, it’s too bad. Of course, you and I had a conversation a couple of years ago, and so that I think got you there a little bit. And we had a conversation many years ago, if you remember, in Trump Tower.
[…]
BW: And as you know and are living, we are at a pivot point in history.
Trump: Right.
BW: And I would’ve liked to have done that, and I maximized my effort, and somehow it didn’t get to you, or . ..
Trump: It’s really too bad, because nobody told me about it, and I would’ve loved to have spoken to you. You know I’m very open to you. I think you’ve always been fair. We’ll see what happens. But all I can say is the country is doing very well. We’re doing better economically just about than at any time. We’re doing better on unemployment maybe than ever. You know, I mean, if you look at the unemployment numbers, you’ve heard me say it. And we’re doing better on unemployment than just about ever. We’re having a lot of — a lot of companies are moving back into our country, which would’ve been unheard of two years ago. If the other administration or representatives of it had kept going, had kept — you know, if the other group had won, I will tell you, that you would have, I think you’d have a GDP of less than zero. I think we would’ve been going in the wrong direction. Because regulations are such a big part of what we’ve done, Bob.
[…]
BW: Well, Mr. President, how can I spend all this time talking to people and — like Kellyanne and Raj and Republican senators?
Trump: Who were the senators? No, they never called me about it.
BW: Senator [Lindsey] Graham said he had talked to you about talking to me. Now, is that not true?
Trump: Senator Graham actually mentioned it quickly in one meeting.
BW: Yes. Well, see. And then nothing happened.
Trump: That is true. That is true. Well, that — no, but that is true. Mentioned it quickly, not like, you know, and I would certainly have thought that maybe you would’ve called the office. But that’s okay. I’ll speak to Kellyanne. I am a little surprised that she wouldn’t have told me. In fact, she just walked in. [to Kellyanne] I’m talking to Bob Woodward. He said that he told you.
Then there’s the part where Conway herself walked in on the president during the phone call, and he handed her the line:
Conway: I said you tried talking to everybody? What about when you interviewed, like, other people? They all said yes? That they’d try?
BW: Yeah, well, about six or seven people. I tried. And I couldn’t have — you and I spent a whole lunch on it, Kellyanne. And I said, I want to cover the substantive issues in foreign policy and domestic policy. And you said you would get back to me. Nothing.
Conway: Yeah. So, I did. I presented it to the people here who make those decisions, but . ..
BW: Who are the people?
Conway: But anyway, I’ll give you back to the president. And I’m glad to hear that you tried through seven or eight different people. That’s good. You should tell him all the names. [Laughs] Thank you.
Conway left the conversation, putting Trump back in the position of scolding Woodward for not doing more to reach him.
Trump: It doesn’t matter. Let me tell you what matters: The economy is the best it’s been in many, many decades. And it’s going to get a lot better. And the country is doing very well. That’s what’s important.
BW: Yes, sir. I thought I would . ..
Trump: We’re doing a good job.
BW: . . . never kind of say, let’s not talk about this because the book is done to a president . ..
Trump: Yeah, I know.
BW: . . . and, but that’s the position we’re in. And it’s one I tried to avoid. You need to know I made maximum effort.
Trump: All right. It’s too bad.
BW: Yes, sir.
Trump: I’m just hearing about it. And I heard — I did hear from Lindsey, but I’m just hearing about it. So we’re going to have a very inaccurate book, and that’s too bad. But I don’t blame you entirely.
BW: No, it’s [?] — it’s going to be accurate, I promise.
Trump: Yeah, okay. Well, accurate is that nobody’s ever done a better job than I’m doing as president. That I can tell you. So that’s . . . And that’s the way a lot of people feel that know what’s going on, and you’ll see that over the years. But a lot of people feel that, Bob.
BW: I believe in our country, and because you’re our president, I wish you good luck.
Trump: Okay. Thank you very much, Bob. I appreciate it. Bye.