Quotes from Bob Woodward

The Chinese thought that Trump in desperation would create a crisis, present himself as the savior, and use the gambit to win reelection.

Navarro publicly said. "My function really as an economist is to try to provide the underlying analytics that confirm his intuition. And his intuition is always right in these matters.

Cohn was astounded at Trump's lack of basic understanding. He tried to explain. If you as the federal government borrow money through issuing bonds, you are increasing the U.S. deficit. What do you mean? Trump asked. Just run the presses—print money.

On July 25, the president again berated McMaster. He had no interest in allies, Trump said. He didn't want any troops in South Korea even when reminded about the differential between the seven seconds to detect an ICBM launch from there as opposed to 15-minute detection from Alaska.

The president has no moral compass," Mattis replied. The bluntness should have shocked Coats, but he'd arrived at his own hard truths about the most powerful man in the world. "True," Coats agreed. "To him, a lie is not a lie. It's just what he thinks. He doesn't know the difference between the truth and a lie.

All presidencies are audience driven, but Trump's central audience was often himself. He kept giving himself reviews. Most were passionately positive.

Trump's memory needed a trigger—something on his desk or something he read in the newspaper or saw on television. Or Peter Navarro sneaking into the Oval Office again. Without something or someone activating him, it might be hours or days or even weeks before he would think, Wait, we're going to withdraw from that, why didn't we do that? Without a trigger, it conceivably might never happen.

Barr paused and delivered his summary line: "They just think you're a fucking asshole." Trump did not seem taken aback or insulted.

After McMaster left, Trump asked, "Who was that guy? He wrote a book didn't he? It said bad things about people. I thought you told me he was in the Army." "He is in the Army." "He's dressed like a beer salesman," the president said. Bannon, noted for his terrible wardrobe, agreed. He thought McMaster's suit looked like it cost only $ 200, or maybe only $ 100.

This guy is mentally retarded. He's this dumb Southerner.

But how many more deaths?" Trump asked. "How many more lost limbs? How much longer are we going to be there?

had no interest in allies, Trump said. He didn't want any troops in South Korea even when reminded about the differential between the seven seconds to detect an ICBM launch from there as opposed to 15-minute detection from Alaska.

The tweets were not incidental to his presidency. They were central. He ordered printouts of his recent tweets that had received a high number of likes, 200,000 or more. He studied them to find the common themes in the most successful. He seemed to want to become more strategic, find out whether success was tied to the subject, the language or simply the surprise that the president was weighing in. The most effective tweets were often the most shocking.

Mattis was particularly exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president acted like—and had the understanding of—"a fifth or sixth grader.

many of the president's senior advisers, especially those in the national security realm, are extremely concerned with his erratic nature, his relative ignorance, his inability to learn, as well as what they consider his dangerous views.

I wish I could persuade you," Dowd said. "Don't testify. It's either that or an orange jump suit.

you're very pro-choice." "What does that mean?

Endgame goals were fuzzy or unstated. The result was often weeks or months of delay.

The others were silent and only seemed to be encouraging Trump. Porter was appalled that the president was even considering a preemptive withdrawal from NAFTA.

On CBS, Stephen Colbert joked darkly, "It's just like D-Day. Remember D-Day, two sides, Allies and the Nazis? There was a lot of violence on both sides. Ruined a beautiful beach. And it could have been a golf course.

Well," she said, "I hope you can prevail in the insane snake pit of the Oval Office and the crazy family as well.

Why?" asked Priebus. "Because when you put a snake and a rat and a falcon and a rabbit and a shark and a seal in a zoo without walls, things start getting nasty and bloody. That's what happens.

To the contrary, Milley believed January 6 was a planned, coordinated, synchronized attack on the very heart of American democracy, designed to overthrow the government to prevent the constitutional certification of a legitimate election won by Joe Biden.

Former General John Kelly had stood in the Trump Tower lobby as Trump took questions with a grim look on his face. Colbert said, "This guy is a four-star general. Iraq, no problem. Afghanistan, we can do it. Twenty-minute Trump press conference? A quagmire.