White House denounces book by 'Anonymous' author claiming to be administration official as fiction
The White House is denouncing the book written by the author of an anonymous New York Times op-ed, saying the book claiming to contain inside knowledge of the Trump White House is "fiction" and the author is a "coward."
The book reportedly describes the author’s experience working in the Trump White House, echoing concerns raised by others in the past around comments from the president that are seen as derogatory toward women or immigrants.
In the excerpts, the author describes the president as “out-of-control,” claims claim senior officials considered resigning en masse in protest of the president’s actions, and accuses the president of making crass comments about women and making derogatory statements about women that cross the southern border looking for asylum.
The White House denounced the book on Friday, saying it can’t be trusted as accurate because the author won’t put their name on it.
“The coward who wrote this book didn’t put their name on it because it is nothing but lies. Real authors reach out to their subjects to get things fact checked – but this person is in hiding, making that very basic part of being a real writer impossible. Reporters who choose to write about this farce should have the journalistic integrity to cover the book as what it is – a work of fiction,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.
The book titled “A Warning” isn’t scheduled to publish until Nov. 19 but the Washington Post and other organizations have published excerpts. ABC News has not independently reviewed or corroborated material in the book.
The publisher says the author is the same anonymous writer identified as a senior administration official that wrote an op-ed in The New York Times last year describing a “resistance” within the administration working to block parts of Trump’s agenda they saw as harmful for the country. The publisher has not been confirmed if the author is still working in the Trump administration.
