Fire and Fury

by Michael Wolff

  This was all part of the next stage of Trumpism—to protect it from Trump.

  * * *

  General Kelly was conscientiously and grimly trying to purge the West Wing chaos. He had begun by compartmentalizing the sources and nature of the chaos. The overriding source, of course, was the president’s own eruptions, which Kelly could not control and had resigned himself to accepting. As for the ancillary chaos, much of it had been calmed by the elimination of Bannon, Priebus, Scaramucci, and Spicer, with the effect of making it quite a Jarvanka-controlled West Wing.

  Now, nine months in, the administration faced the additional problem that it was very hard to hire anyone of stature to replace the senior people who had departed. And the stature of those who remained seemed to be more diminutive by the week.

  Hope Hicks, at twenty-eight, and Stephen Miller, at thirty-two, both of whom had begun as effective interns on the campaign, were now among the seniormost figures in the White House. Hicks had assumed command of the communications operation, and Miller had effectively replaced Bannon as the senior political strategist.

  After the Scaramucci fiasco, and the realization that the position of communications director would be vastly harder to fill, Hicks was assigned the job as the “interim” director. She was given the interim title partly because it seemed implausible that she was qualified to run an already battered messaging operation, and partly because if she was given the permanent job everyone would assume that the president was effectively calling the daily shots. But by the middle of September, interim was quietly converted to permanent.

  In the larger media and political world, Miller—who Bannon referred to as “my typist”—was a figure of ever increasing incredulity. He could hardly be taken out in public without engaging in some screwball, if not screeching, fit of denunciation and grievance. He was the de facto crafter of policy and speeches, and yet up until now he had largely only taken dictation.

  Most problematic of all, Hicks and Miller, along with everyone on the Jarvanka side, were now directly connected to actions involved in the Russian investigation or efforts to spin it, deflect it, or, indeed, cover it up. Miller and Hicks had drafted—or at least typed—Kushner’s version of the first letter written at Bedminster to fire Comey. Hicks had joined with Kushner and his wife to draft on Air Force One the Trump-directed press release about Don Jr. and Kushner’s meeting with the Russians in Trump Tower.

  In its way, this had become the defining issue for the White House staff: who had been in what inopportune room. And even beyond the general chaos, the constant legal danger formed part of the high barrier to getting people to come work in the West Wing.

  Kushner and his wife—now largely regarded as a time bomb inside the White House—were spending considerable time on their own defense and battling a sense of mounting paranoia, not least about what members of the senior staff who had already exited the West Wing might now say about them. Kushner, in the middle of October, would, curiously, add to his legal team Charles Harder, the libel lawyer who had defended both Hulk Hogan in his libel suit against Gawker, the Internet gossip site, and Melania Trump in her suit against the Daily Mail. The implied threat to media and to critics was clear. Talk about Jared Kushner at your peril. It also likely meant that Donald Trump was yet managing the White House’s legal defense, slotting in his favorite “tough guy” lawyers.

  Beyond Donald Trump’s own daily antics, here was the consuming issue of the White House: the ongoing investigation directed by Robert Mueller. The father, the daughter, the son-in-law, his father, the extended family exposure, the prosecutor, the retainers looking to save their own skins, the staffers who Trump had rewarded with the back of his hand—it all threatened, in Bannon’s view, to make Shakespeare look like Dr. Seuss.

  Everyone waited for the dominoes to fall, and to see how the president, in his fury, might react and change the game again.

  * * *

  Steve Bannon was telling people he thought there was a 33.3 percent chance that the Mueller investigation would lead to the impeachment of the president, a 33.3 percent chance that Trump would resign, perhaps in the wake of a threat by the cabinet to act on the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (by which the cabinet can remove the president in the event of his incapacitation), and a 33.3 percent chance that he would limp to the end of his term. In any event, there would certainly not be a second term, or even an attempt at one.

  “He’s not going to make it,” said Bannon at the Breitbart Embassy. “He’s lost his stuff.”

  Less volubly, Bannon was telling people something else: he, Steve Bannon, was going to run for president in 2020. The locution, “If I were president…” was turning into, “When I am president…”

  The top Trump donors from 2016 were in his camp, Bannon claimed: Sheldon Adelson, the Mercers, Bernie Marcus, and Peter Thiel. In short order, and as though he had been preparing for this move for some time, Bannon had left the White House and quickly thrown together a rump campaign organization. The heretofore behind-the-scenes Bannon was methodically meeting with every conservative leader in the country—doing his best, as he put it, to “kiss the ass and pay homage to all the gray-beards.” And he was keynoting a list of must-attend conservative events.

  “Why is Steve speaking? I didn’t know he spoke,” the president remarked with puzzlement and rising worry to aides.

  Trump had been upstaged in other ways as well. He had been scheduled for a major 60 Minutes interview in September, but this was abruptly canceled after Bannon’s 60 Minutes interview with Charlie Rose on September 11. The president’s advisers felt he shouldn’t put himself in a position where he would be compared with Bannon. The worry among staffers—all of them concerned that Trump’s rambling and his alarming repetitions (the same sentences delivered with the same expressions minutes apart) had significantly increased, and that his ability to stay focused, never great, had notably declined—was that he was likely to suffer by such a comparison. Instead, the interview with Trump was offered to Sean Hannity—with a preview of the questions.

  Bannon was also taking the Breitbart opposition research group—the same forensic accountant types who had put together the damning Clinton Cash revelations—and focusing it on what he characterized as the “political elites.” This was a catchall list of enemies that included as many Republicans as Democrats.

  Most of all, Bannon was focused on fielding candidates for 2018. While the president had repeatedly threatened to support primary challenges against his enemies, in the end, with his aggressive head start, it was Bannon who would be leading these challenges. It was Bannon spreading fear in the Republican Party, not Trump. Indeed, Bannon was willing to pick outré if not whacky candidates—including former Staten Island congressman Michael Grimm, who had done a stint in federal prison—to demonstrate, as he had demonstrated with Trump, the scale, artfulness, and menace of Bannon-style politics. Although the Republicans in the 2018 congressional races were looking, according to Bannon’s numbers, at a 15-point deficit, it was Bannon’s belief that the more extreme the right-wing challenge appeared, the more likely the Democrats would field left-wing nutters even less electable than right-wing nutters. The disruption had just begun.

  Trump, in Bannon’s view, was a chapter, or even a detour, in the Trump revolution, which had always been about weaknesses in the two major parties. The Trump presidency—however long it lasted—had created the opening that would provide the true outsiders their opportunity. Trump was just the beginning.

  Standing on the Breitbart steps that October morning, Bannon smiled and said: “It’s going to be wild as shit.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I am grateful to Janice Min and Matthew Belloni at the Hollywood Reporter, who, eighteen months ago, got me up one morning to jump on a plane in New York and that evening interview the unlikely candidate in Los Angeles. My publisher, Stephen Rubin, and editor, John Sterling, at Henry Holt have not only generously supported this book but shepherded it with enthusiasm and
care on an almost daily basis. My agent, Andrew Wylie, made this book happen, as usual, virtually overnight.

  Michael Jackson at Two Cities TV, Peter Benedek at UTA, and my lawyers, Kevin Morris and Alex Kohner, have patiently pushed this project forward.

  A libel reading can be like a visit to the dentist. But in my long experience, no libel lawyer is more nuanced, sensitive, and strategic than Eric Rayman. Once again, almost a pleasure.

  Many friends, colleagues, and generous people in the greater media and political world have made this a smarter book, among them Mike Allen, Jonathan Swan, John Homans, Franklin Foer, Jack Shafer, Tammy Haddad, Leela de Kretser, Stevan Keane, Matt Stone, Edward Jay Epstein, Simon Dumenco, Tucker Carlson, Joe Scarborough, Piers Morgan, Juleanna Glover, Niki Christoff, Dylan Jones, Michael Ledeen, Mike Murphy, Tim Miller, Larry McCarthy, Benjamin Ginsberg, Al From, Kathy Ruemmler, Matthew Hiltzik, Lisa Dallos, Mike Rogers, Joanna Coles, Steve Hilton, Michael Schrage, Matt Cooper, Jim Impoco, Michael Feldman, Scott McConnell, and Mehreen Maluk.

  My appreciation to fact-checkers Danit Lidor, Christina Goulding, and Joanne Gerber.

  My greatest thanks to Victoria Floethe, for her support, patience, and insights, and for her good grace in letting this book take such a demanding place in our lives.

  INDEX

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Abbas, Mahmoud

  Abe, Shinzō

  Abraham Lincoln, USS

  Abramovich, Roman

  Adelson, Sheldon

  Afghanistan

  Agalarov, Aras

  Agenda, The (Woodward)

  Ailes, Beth

  Ailes, Roger

  Alabama

  Al Shayrat airfield strike

  alt-right

  American Prospect

  Anbang Insurance Group

  anti-Semitism

  Anton, Michael

  Apprentice, The (TV show)

  Arif, Tevfik

  Armey, Dick

  Arthur Andersen

  Art of the Deal, The (Trump and Schwartz)

  Assad, Bashar al-

  Atlantic City

  Atwater, Lee

  Australia

  Ayers, Nick

  Azerbaijan

  Bahrain

  Baier, Bret

  Baker, James

  Baker, Peter

  Bannon, Steve

  Afghanistan and

  agenda of, in White House

  agenda of, post-firing

  alt-right and

  background of

  campaign and

  Charlottesville and

  China and

  Cohn and

  Comey firing and

  CPAC and

  eve of inauguration and

  first weeks of presidency and

  Flynn and

  immigration and

  inauguration and

  influence of

  isolationism of

  Israel and

  Ivanka and

  Jarvanka vs.

  Kelly and

  Kushner and

  Kuttner call and firing of

  media and

  NSC and

  Obamacare and

  Paris Climate Accord and

  Pence and

  Priebus and

  role of, in early presidency

  Russia investigation and

  Ryan and

  Saudi Arabia and

  Scaramucci and

  Sessions and

  Syria and

  Trump on

  Trump pressured to fire

  Trump’s personality and

  Trump’s Times interview and

  White House appointments and

  Barra, Mary

  Barrack, Tom

  Bartiromo, Maria

  Bass, Edward

  Bayrock Group

  Bedminster Golf Club

  Beinart, Peter

  Benghazi

  Berkowitz, Avi

  Berlusconi, Silvio

  Berman, Mark

  Best and the Brightest, The (Halberstam)

  Bezos, Jeff

  Biosphere 2

  Blackstone Group

  Blackwater

  Blair, Tony

  Blankfein, Lloyd

  Bloomberg, Michael

  Boehner, John

  Boeing

  Bolton, John

  border wall

  Bossie, David

  Bowles, Erskine

  Boyle, Matthew

  Boy Scouts of America

  Brady, Tom

  Brand, Rachel

  Breitbart, Andrew

  Breitbart News

  Brennan, John

  Brexit

  Britain

  Brooks, Mel

  Bryan, William Jennings

  Brzezinski, Mika

  Brzezinski, Zbigniew

  Buckley, William F.

  Bush, Billy

  Bush, George H. W.

  Bush, George W.

  Bush, Jeb

  business councils

  Camp David

  Canada

  Card, Andrew

  Carlson, Tucker

  Carter, Arthur

  Carter, Graydon

  Carter, Jimmy

  Caslen, Robert L., Jr.

  Celebrity Apprentice (TV show)

  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

  Charlottesville rally

  chemical weapons

  Cheney, Dick

  China

  Chopra, Deepak

  Christie, Chris

  Christoff, Niki

  Churchill, Winston

  Circa news website

  Clapper, James

  Clinton, Bill

  impeachment of

  Clinton, Hillary

  Comey and

  Russian hacking of emails

  Clinton Cash (Schweizer)

  CNBC

  CNN

  Cohen, Michael

  Cohn, Gary

  Cohn, Roy

  Collins, Gail

  Comey, James

  Commerce Department

  Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)

  Conway, George

  Conway, Kellyanne

  Corallo, Mark

  Corker, Bob

  Corzine, Jon

  Coulter, Ann

  Couric, Katie

  Cruz, Ted

  DACA

  Daily Mail

  Daley, Bill

  Davis, Lanny

  Dean, John

  Defense Intelligence Agency

  Democratic National Committee (DNC)

  Democratic Party

  Deripaska, Oleg

  Deutsche Bank

  Devil’s Bargain, The (Green)

  DeVos, Betsy

  DeYoung, Karen

  Dickerson, John

  Digital Entertainment Network

  Director of National Intelligence

  Disney

  Dowd, Mark

  Dubai

  Dubke, Mike

  Duke, David

  Dunford, Joseph

  Egypt

  elections

  of 2008

  of 2016

  of 2017

  of 2018

  of 2020

  Emanuel, Rahm

  Enron

  environmental regulation

  Epstein, Edward Jay

  Epstein, Jeffrey

  Europe

  European Union

  executive orders (EOs)

  climate change

  immigration and travel ban

  executive privilege

  Export-Import Bank

  Facebook

  Farage, Nigel

  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

  Federalist Society

  Federa
l Reserve

  Fields, James Alex, Jr.

  Financial Times

  First Amendment

  Five, The (TV show)

  Florida

  Flynn, Michael

  Foer, Franklin

  Ford, Gerald

  Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court

  Fourth Amendment

  Fox Business Channel

  Fox News

  Franken, Al

  Freedom Caucus

  Fusion GPS

  G20 summit

  Gaddafi, Muammar

  Gamergate

  Gawker

  Gaza

  Gazprom

  Geffen, David

  General Electric (GE)

  General Motors

  Georgia (post-Soviet)

  Gingrich, Newt

  Giuliani, Rudy

  Glover, Juleanna

  Glover Park Group

  Goldman Sachs

  Goldman Sachs Foundation

  Goldwater, Barry

  Gore, Al

  Gorka, Sebastian

  Gorsuch, Neil

  Grimm, Michael

  Guardian

  Guilfoyle, Kimberly

  H-1B visas

  Haberman, Maggie

  Hagin, Joe

  Hahn, Julia

  Haig, Alexander

  Halberstam, David

  Haldeman, H. R.

  Haley, Nikki

  Hall, Jerry

  Halperin, Mark

  Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, king of Bahrain

  Hanley, Allie

  Hannity, Sean

  Harder, Charles

  Haspel, Gina

  Health and Human Services Department (HHS)

  Hemingway, Mark

  Heritage Foundation

  Heyer, Heather

  Hicks, Hope

  Hiltzik, Matthew

  Hitler, Adolf

  HNA Group

  Hogan, Hulk

  Homeland Security Department

  Hoover, J. Edgar

  Hubbell, Webster

  Hull, Cordell

  Hussein, Saddam

  Hutchison, Kay Bailey

  IBM

  Icahn, Carl

  Iger, Bob

  immigration and travel ban

  infrastructure

  Ingraham, Laura

  intelligence community

  Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE)

  In the Face of Evil (documentary)

  Iran