Snappy, alliterative, essentially true — President Trump had coined another one. For the first time, the target of his executive nicknaming was one of his own: “Sloppy Steve” Bannon, his ousted strategist. https://t.co/Zi6gE0Y7x4
— NYT National News (@NYTNational) January 6, 2018
Haberman said Trump is also incorrect when he says he never met with Wolff, but she also said that Wolff is “overstating the access he had to the president” to write the book.
She pointed to other inconsistencies that Wolff is making.
“He described in the book Rupert Murdoch’s quote ‘an expletive idiot’ about Trump and then in his own column a day later it was ‘expletive moron,'” she said.
Haberman said the shortcoming is the result of Wolff’s decision not to make the extra effort to check basic facts.
“Michael Wolff and Donald Trump are not dissimilar people. I mean, there is a reason they knew each other before the president became the president. Wolff privately refers to him as Donald, not Trump or the president or so forth,” she said.
I’ll buy that Wolff is somewhat full of shit and also stretches a quote to fit his narrative, even though, as James Fallows points out, he’s only reporting what we all know already. I also think that Haberman and the Times fundamentally misunderstand how to best cover this administration.
Wolff understood how to get the kind of access that the Times only dreams of: he lied, kissed ass and otherwise donned the appearance of complete fealty towards a narcissist. Then he reported what he saw. The Times thinks they can play a game of coyly, briefly brushing their lips to Trump’s ass (as in the tweet above) to curry favor. The institutional prissiness and prudishness of their DC bureau also keeps them from writing what should be some of the best copy every written by the White House Press Corpse. At least one Times reporter should be filing stories like those in Wolff’s books, getting “fucking moron” and “fucking idiot” straight, if that’s as vitally important as Haberman suggests.
After years of being kissed by the best, Trump’s fat ass is chapped and calloused, and only responds to the most vigorous and consistent application of a courtier’s lips. The little butterfly kisses emitted by the Times from time to time could perhaps be a soothing balm to a less thickened organ, but they’re barely sensed by Trump’s butt, if they’re felt at all. Yet, the Times persists in destroying their reputation and disparaging others who are stealing their lunch. I don’t see Marty Baron’s Post doing the same.