Not a traitor, but an incompetent charlatan and a bully
Book review: Fear A lack of juicy gossip makes Bob Woodward's expose of Trump in the White House a credible and very damning read.
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Twice daily
MoneyWeek
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Four times a week
Look After My Bills
Sign up to our free money-saving newsletter, filled with the latest news and expert advice to help you find the best tips and deals for managing your bills. Start saving today!
Bob WoodwardSimon and Schuster, £20(Buy at Amazon)
Journalist Bob Woodward has made a name for himself in recent years with his series of dramatised narratives examining key moments in the Clinton, Bush and Obama presidencies. His latest tells the story so far of the Trump presidency.
Trump does not come out of it well. The book portrays him as fickle, egoistical and uninterested in (and clueless about) the foreign and trade policy details. Despite demanding total loyalty, and taking any disagreement personally, Trump has no compunction about treating his subordinates like dirt. As you'd expect, such behaviour is repaid in the same vein, and the second his back is turned his advisers and staffers are quite open about their contempt for him.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
None of this is news, but Woodward's page-turning book spells out all the details, and he enhances his credibility by refuting some wilder theories. Woodward thinks it unlikely Trump was involved in Russian collusion, for example, and that Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor, has behaved in bad faith and gone beyond his remit. Contrary to rumours, Trump also has a cordial if distant relationship with his wife.
Woodward's book may lack the juicy gossip of Michael Wolff's headline-grabbingFire and Fury, but this makes it a much more credible, and therefore damning, take.Trump may not have directly betrayed his country, but he stands revealed as an incompetent charlatan and bully.
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

-
Average UK house price reaches £300,000 for first time, Halifax saysWhile the average house price has topped £300k, regional disparities still remain, Halifax finds.
-
Barings Emerging Europe trust bounces back from Russia woesBarings Emerging Europe trust has added the Middle East and Africa to its mandate, delivering a strong recovery, says Max King