The author of an explosive new book about Donald Trump has suggested it could help end his presidency, as he defends himself against claims it is inaccurate.
In an escalating war of words and attacks on the book, Trump called Michael Wolff a “total loser” and his book “boring and untruthful”.
It claims that Trump never wanted to be President and his staff view him as a child and has triggered a furious reaction from the White House.
An early batch of Fire And Fury: Inside The Trump White House has sold out at Waterstones “in minutes” on Friday, after its publication day was brought forward due to huge demand.
On Saturday, Wolff went on Radio Four’s Today programme to defend himself against accusations of inaccuracy and suggested his book could hasten the end of his presidency.
He said: “One of the interesting effects of the book has been a ‘Emperor has no clothes’ effect.
“The story I have told seems to present this presidency in such a way that it says he can’t do this job. The Emperor has no clothes.
“People are going ’oh my god, it’s true. He has no clothes’. That’s the background and perception that will finally end this presidency.”
Host Nick Robinson suggested one of Wolff’s main sources, Trump’s ex-aide Steve Bannon who left the White House in August, was not reliable.
Wolff replied: “There’s nothing necesarily unreliable about Bannon... Steve Bannon made Trump president. It drives Trump crazy but it’s absolutely true.”
Wolff called Trump “ineffectual,” saying: “He can’t really do anything... He can’t pass any laws’.
“It’s almost inexplicable that [he was elected]. It exposes the weakness of the system and it exposes Trump himself.”
Wolff shouted “no no no” as Robinson began to outline people who had refuted claims in the book, such as Tony Blair denying he had warned Trump about Britain spying on him.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson denied he had ever questioned Trump’s mental health, after the Wolff claimed he saw Trump as a child who needed “instant gratification”.
“I have no reason to question his mental fitness,” Tillerson told CNN.
Wolff told Today: “I am absolutely confident of my sources.”
Wolff also claimed Trump did not know the word “Brexit” when Wolff interviewed him weeks before the referendum in 2016.
The book’s most scathing comments about Trump and his family come from Bannon, whom Trump called “sloppy Steve” in his latest tweet.
Trump has previously said Bannon “lost his mind” when he left the White House in August.
Ratcheting up his attack, Trump said Bannon “cried and begged for his job” and “has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone”.
The book’s release date was brought forward but with Amazon quoting an in-stock date of January 10, and many bookstores in the UK not expecting deliveries until next week, the small number of copies which landed at Waterstones Piccadilly on Friday “flew off the shelves in minutes”.
A spokeswoman for Waterstones said: “We haven’t seen this level of interest in a political title in some time, and the media and customer interest in Fire And Fury in the UK, the US and elsewhere is indicative of the global fascination with President Trump and his administration.
“We had a small but welcome early delivery to our Piccadilly shop, all copies of which, unsurprisingly, flew off the shelves in minutes.”
The book is drawn from what he said was regular access to the West Wing and more than 200 interviews, including some three hours with Trump himself.
Wolff hit back at Trump’s claims that he lacked access to the White House and never spoke to the president.
The author told NBC: “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.”