US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he has never doubted President Trump’s mental health after a new book claimed staff saw him as a child.
Author Michael Wolff said White House employees believed Mr Trump’s “mental powers were slipping”.
His book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, went on sale early despite the president’s attempts to block its publication.
Mr Trump says the book is “boring and untruthful” and Wolff a “total loser”.
He said it was being pushed by the media and others to hurt him. He added in a tweet: “They should try winning an election. Sad!”
Mr Tillerson – who is alleged to have called Mr Trump a moron last year – told CNN: “I have no reason to question his mental fitness.”
He said Mr Trump was “not typical of presidents of the past”.
“I think that’s well recognised. That’s also though why the American people chose him,” he said.
On Saturday, Mr Trump will begin two days of talks with senior Republicans to discuss policy priorities for the coming year.
What are the questions on Trump’s mental health?
In a television interview on Friday, Wolff said “100% of the people” around Mr Trump questioned his fitness for office.
His book alleges that Mr Trump failed to recognise close friends, and was prone to repeating comments.
Wolff said that White House staff described the president as childlike because “he has the need for immediate gratification. It’s all about him… This man does not read, does not listen. He’s like a pinball just shooting off the sides.”
The president said he had not given Wolff access to the White House nor spoken to him for the book.
But Wolff responded: “What was I doing there if he didn’t want me to be there? I absolutely spoke to the president… It was not off the record.”
He said he had spent a total of three hours with Mr Trump, both during the election campaign and after the inauguration.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Wolff said staff had come to realise “the emperor has no clothes”.
What else is in the book?
It cites former top aide Steve Bannon as describing a meeting between a Russian lawyer and Trump election campaign officials, including Mr Trump’s son Donald Jr, as “treasonous”.
Both Mr Trump Jr and his father deny that any collusion with Russians to win the election took place. However Mr Bannon is quoted in the book as saying: “They’re going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.”
The meeting is being investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as part of his inquiry into possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia.
The book makes many other claims, including that:
- The Trump team was shocked and horrified by his election win
- His wife, Melania, was in tears of sadness on election night
- His daughter, Ivanka, had a plan with her husband, Jared Kushner, that she would be “the first woman president”
- Ivanka mocked her dad’s “comb-over” hairstyle and “often described the mechanics behind it to friends”
The accuracy of some excerpts has been criticised and questioned in US media.
Still, even if only half of what the book contains is true, it paints a damning portrait of a paranoid president and a chaotic White House, says BBC North America editor Jon Sopel.
Mr Trump said Mr Bannon – who was sacked in August – had “lost his mind” after losing his White House position, adding in a tweet that Mr Bannon had cried when he lost his job.
Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad! https://t.co/mEeUhk5ZV9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018
Reports suggest that more conservative factions in the Republican party are rallying around Mr Trump.
Billionaire conservative donor Rebekah Mercer, who had backed Mr Bannon financially and invested in the right-wing Breitbart news website that he heads, cut ties with the former strategist, and reiterated her support for the president.
What else is happening at the White House?
Despite the storm over the book, the Trump administration has been pressing ahead with its agenda. On Thursday it:
- Unveiled a plan to expand offshore drilling
- Opened the door to a crackdown on state-legal marijuana sales
- Cut off security assistance to Pakistan
- Took credit for economic growth as the Dow Jones index crossed the 25,000 mark for the first time
On Friday, Mr Trump refused to answer questions about the book as he departed for Camp David from the White House. Mr Trump will spend two days meeting top Republicans at the retreat to discuss his legislative priorities for the year ahead.
Source: BBC