Quotes from Bob Woodward

He did not want to be derailed by forethought.

Eventually Porter developed a routine and would bring in two to 10 decision memos for him to sign each day. Trump liked signing. It meant he was doing things, and he had an up-and-down penmanship that looked authoritative in black Magic Marker.

And is there anybody in charge at the White House who was doing anything but kissing his fat butt all over this?

When you're in the White House," Butterfield said, "everyone lies. You can sort of get feeling immune.

Another State Department representative noted that the central government lacked legitimacy in the eyes of the Afghan public, the lowest in 10 years, according to polling done in the country. He observed that the illicit economy, opium and illegal mining, was the size of the regular economy, and a significant portion was under control of Taliban insurgents.

All presidencies are audience driven, but Trump's central audience was often himself. He kept giving himself reviews. Most were passionately positive. Much of his brain was in the press box.

withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, a regional free trade deal negotiated under Obama that lowered tariffs and provided a forum to resolve intellectual property and labor disputes between the U.S. and 11 other nations, including Japan, Canada and numerous countries in Southeast Asia.

There were four missions in Afghanistan: train and advise the Afghan Army and police; logistical support; counterterrorism; and the intelligence mission.

Mr. President," Miller said, piping up from one of the Oval Office couches, "they are burning America down. Antifa, Black Lives Matter, they're burning it down. You have an insurrection on your hands. Barbarians are at the gate." Milley spun around from his seat in front of the Resolute Desk. "Shut the fuck up, Steve.

I would recommend you run as if you are running for governor in three states - Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. There were the first three caucus or primary states. Run and sound local, like you want to be their governor. A lot of candidates make the huge mistake of trying to run in 27 states. Run three governor's races, and you'll have a really good shot. Focus on three. Do well in three. And the others will come.

Rudy, you're a baby!" Trump said loudly. "I've never seen a worse defense of me in my life. They took your diaper off right there. You're like a little baby that needed to be changed. When are you going to be a man?

Grievance was a big part of Trump's core, very much like a 14-year-old boy who felt he was being picked on unfairly.

Don't take any questions, all the staff told him with urgency. Trump said he did not plan on taking any. At the press briefing, he took questions

Bannon recalled, "that this is the real deal. This is a guy totally unprepared. Hillary Clinton spent her entire adult life getting ready for this moment. Trump hasn't spent a second getting ready for this moment.

Caught by surprise, Kelly had gone dark for several hours. He'd had to call his wife and explain that he had no choice but to accept after being offered one of the most important jobs in the world via tweet.

I guess you're right," Trump said several times. "We could do that." But then he ignored most reviews or vetting and did what he wanted.

Trump was a guy who "never went to class. Never got the syllabus.

Fuck no!" Powell said. "I told you never to take the job. You never should have taken the job. Trump's a fucking maniac.

Well, just because someone might be a source doesn't necessarily make them Deep Throat

We're going to put a tariff on all steel and aluminum, on everything coming in," the president said, "and see what happens." This approach drove Gary Cohn, the chief White House economic adviser, crazy. He had argued passionately that the American economy was too important to haphazardly experiment with.

Real power is fear.

Reagan was read portions of his own diary, and he said something I'll never forget: It's like I wasn't president at all. Very sad. As I reflected about this i was sure that I didn't want to badger Mark Felt in the same manner. i didn't want Felt to have to say, in effect, It's like i wasn't Deep Throat at all.

Many on Twitter wondered if Trump had violated the platform's terms of service by threatening nuclear war.

The Fox News network, especially opinion broadcaster Sean Hannity, had a Svengali-like influence on Trump that Rosenstein privately labeled "malicious." Too many right-wing nuts had influence. He also found no comfort or credibility with mainstream media reporters, who he believed were prisoners of their partisan sources.