The author of a tell-all book that paints a poor picture of President Donald Trump and the early days of his administration said Monday he will not release his notes or interview tapes to prove his quotes and stories are accurate.
Michael Wolff spoke with MSNBC's Katy Tur about his book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" and drew the line when asked if he would provide proof of his claims.
"People are scrambling and they are panicked, which I absolutely understand. Nobody saw this book coming, nobody saw that it would be as big as it seems to be. And everybody is a deer caught in the headlights," said Wolff when asked about people who claim they were misquoted.
When pressed if he would release tapes of his interviews, he pushed back.
"I work like every journalist; I have tapes, I have notes," he said. "My evidence is the book, read the book. If it makes sense to you, if it strikes a chord, if it rings true, it is true."
He later added, "When an author writes a book, that's a very significant thing. . . . Everything that I do has been specifically, closely sourced. That's what we do, we take notes. You're a reporter, would you open your notes to the world? It's called work product. And that turns into a book."
During the lengthy interview with Tur, Wolff said he thinks Trump is a racist and might even be anti-Semitic.
"I think he's aware of who is Jewish in a way that . . . feels creepy," Wolff said.
Wolff admitted he has been in contact with people inside the White House since the book was released last Friday. Without naming names, he said the word in the West Wing is Trump is "bouncing off the walls" because of the book.
"Fire and Fury" was originally slated to be released Monday, but demand soared through the roof after an excerpt from it was printed in New York Magazine last Wednesday. The following day, it was decided the book would be released Friday.
Trump supporters and surrogates have come out swinging in recent days to defend the president and try to discredit Wolff. The author, however, has stuck to his story and said everything in his book is true — including the fact all of Trump's senior staffers are "alarmed, concerned, confused" about Trump serving as president.
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