{"id":70169,"date":"2018-09-04T19:47:09","date_gmt":"2018-09-04T19:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/04\/woodward-book-says-john-kelly-privately-called-president-trump-an-idiot\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:07:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:07:29","slug":"woodward-book-says-john-kelly-privately-called-president-trump-an-idiot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/09\/04\/woodward-book-says-john-kelly-privately-called-president-trump-an-idiot\/","title":{"rendered":"Woodward book says John Kelly privately called President Trump an \u2018idiot\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 An upcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward says President Donald Trump\u2019s chief of staff privately called Trump an \u201cidiot\u201d and aides plucked sensitive documents off the president\u2019s desk to keep him from taking rash actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book is the latest tell-all to roil the Trump administration with explosive anecdotes and concerns about the commander in chief. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/bob-woodwards-new-book-reveals-a-nervous-breakdown-of-trumps-presidency\/2018\/09\/04\/b27a389e-ac60-11e8-a8d7-0f63ab8b1370_story.html?utm_term=.1f64d0f2ad61\" target=_blank>Washington Post<\/a> on Tuesday published details from \u201cFear: Trump in the White House,\u201d the Watergate reporter\u2019s forthcoming examination of Trump\u2019s first 18 months in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/2016\/11\/27\/donald-trump-could-tap-this-tough-talking-general-to-secure-america-s-borders\/\" target=\"_blank\">Chief of Staff John Kelly<\/a> is quoted as having doubted Trump\u2019s mental faculties, declaring during one meeting, \u201cWe\u2019re in Crazytown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2017\/09\/05\/kelly-best-job-i-ever-had-was-a-sergeant-in-the-corps\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/john-kelly-promo-small.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Kelly: Best job I ever had was a sergeant in the Corps<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly says his best job was as a Marine sergeant.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump&#8217;s former lawyer in the Russia probe, John Dowd, is also said to have doubted Trump&#8217;s ability to avoid perjuring himself should he be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Don&#8217;t testify. It&#8217;s either that or an orange jumpsuit,&#8221; Dowd is quoted telling the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is quoted explaining to Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/04\/30\/report-john-kelly-talked-trump-out-of-withdrawing-us-troops-from-south-korea\/\" target=\"_blank\">why the U.S. maintains troops on the South Korean peninsula<\/a> to monitor the North\u2019s missile activities. \u201cWe\u2019re doing this in order to prevent World War III,\u201d Mattis says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Woodward recounts that Mattis told &#8220;close associates that the president acted like \u2014 and had the understanding of \u2014 &#8216;a fifth- or sixth-grader.'&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After an April 2017 chemical weapons attack in Syria, Trump called Mattis to say he wanted to assassinate Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, according to the book. Mattis reportedly told the president he would get right on it, but afterward told a senior aide: \u201cWe\u2019re not going to do any of that. We\u2019re going to be much more measured.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/04\/14\/retaliatory-strikes-on-syria-underway\/\" target=_blank>Airstrikes against Syria<\/a> were ultimately ordered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1024855994.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-55250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1024855994.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1024855994.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1024855994.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1024855994.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis speaks alongside Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as he holds a meeting with Indonesia Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu at the Pentagon on Aug. 28, 2018. (Saul Loeb\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Woodward also claims that Gary Cohn, the former director of the National Economic Council, boasted of removing papers off Trump&#8217;s desk to prevent their signature, including efforts by the president to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House didn&#8217;t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/09\/04\/mattis-calls-revelations-about-president-trump-in-woodwards-new-book-fiction\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18172683585452.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Mattis calls revelations about President Trump in Woodward\u2019s new book \u2018fiction\u2019<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Defense Secretary Jim Mattis denies he said Trump had the intellect of a fifth-grader.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The publication of Woodward&#8217;s book has been anticipated for weeks, and current and former White House officials estimate that nearly all of their colleagues cooperated with the noted journalist, who cut his teeth bringing down Richard Nixon&#8217;s presidency during Watergate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Trump did not speak to Woodward until after the book&#8217;s manuscript was completed. The Post released audio of Trump expressing surprise about the book in an August conversation with Woodward. Woodward tells Trump he had contacted multiple officials to attempt to interview Trump and was rebuffed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18240588153021.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18240588153021.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18240588153021.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18240588153021.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18240588153021.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This image released by Simon &#038; Schuster shows &#8220;Fear: Trump in the White House,&#8221; by Bob Woodward, available on Sept. 11. (Simon &#038; Schuster via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book follows the January release of author <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/01\/03\/trump-blasts-bannon-over-book-says-ex-aide-lost-his-mind\/\" target=_blank>Michael Wolff\u2019s \u201cFire and Fury,\u201d<\/a> which led to a rift between Trump and Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist who spoke with Wolff in terms highly critical of the president and his family. Wolff\u2019s book attracted attention with its vivid anecdotes, but suffered from numerous factual inaccuracies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Woodward&#8217;s work also comes weeks after former White House aide and &#8220;Apprentice&#8221; contestant Omarosa Manigault Newman published an expose on her time in the West Wing, including audio recordings of her firing by Kelly and a follow-on conversation with the president in which he claimed to have been unaware of Kelly&#8217;s decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump has been increasingly critical of anonymous sources used by reporters covering his administration. Woodward\u2019s account relies on so-called \u201cdeep background\u201d conversations with sources, in which their identities are not disclosed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An upcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward says President Donald Trump\u2019s chief of staff privately called Trump an \u201cidiot\u201d and aides plucked sensitive documents off the president\u2019s desk to keep him from taking rash actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":104722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":62,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,12,26,62],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1355],"class_list":["post-70169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"745P6MWBOJFUBH5W3IV4VF6FIA","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/09\/04\/woodward-book-says-john-kelly-privately-called-president-trump-an-idiot\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Woodward book says John Kelly privately called President Trump an \u2018idiot\u2019 - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An upcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward says President Donald Trump\u2019s chief of staff privately called Trump an \u201cidiot\u201d and aides plucked sensitive documents off the president\u2019s desk to keep him from taking rash actions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/09\/04\/woodward-book-says-john-kelly-privately-called-president-trump-an-idiot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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