During an interview on CBS Sunday Morning, journalist and author Bob Woodward said that if he was in charge of the New York Times opinion page he wouldn’t have published the now infamous piece from an anonymous “senior [Trump] administration official.”
“I wouldn’t have used it,” Woodward told CBS’s David Martin.
“Too vague and does not meet the standards of trying to describe specific incidents. Specific incidents are the building blocks of journalism, as you well know,” he added.
Woodward was also asked if he knew the identity of the writer who penned the piece.
“I have no idea who it is. It’s very important, who it is.
“It’s very important whether this is somebody who witnessed and participated. And quite frankly, if there was a person in the White House or the administration who wanted to tell me what’s in that op-ed piece, I would say, ‘OK, name me who was there. What is the specific incident?’
“As you know, from having read my book, the dates and times and participants.”
Trump called the op-ed “gutless” and called on the Times to turn the writer over for “National Security purposes.”
Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018
Woodward’s forthcoming book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” follows along the lines of the op-ed claiming that Trump regularly makes disparaging remarks about cabinet officials and senior staff. He also details how White House staffers are working to control Trump’s worst impulses and regularly criticize him behind closed doors.
The White House has vehemently denied the claims in both the op-ed and Woodward’s book.
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