Trump Consumed with Rage Over “Fire and Fury” Book Says West Wing Journo

President Donald Trump is obsessed with and enraged by Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury” book that describes Trump and the West Wing in most unflattering terms, according to Philip Elliott, a Washington correspondent for TIME. The President can’t let it go. It has consumed more than a week of Trump’s time and the ire doesn’t seem to be abating, according to Elliott. The book also has uncovered a significant split between Trump and his once top political strategist Steve Bannon. Bannon was the named source on numerous unflattering depictions of Trump and his family members. Meanwhile, as controversy over the book swirls, President Trump is advancing an “unsettling” foreign policy with provocative nuclear Tweets directed toward North Korea, cutting off some aid to Pakistan, designating Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and jumping to the verbal support of Iranian protestors. Simultaneously, his State Department is gravely understaffed and morale is at rock bottom, says Elliott. If this was not enough controversy, the federal government is facing another potential government shutdown if a budget or another continuing resolution is not passed by mid-January. Also, while all of this is happening, Trump political opponent and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney will likely run for the U.S. Senate seat from Utah and 39 Republican members of the House of Representatives have decided not to seek re-election, Elliott adds. Finally, the President is also facing an extensive interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller or his staff within the next few weeks. This interview could go a long way in charting the legal course that Mueller will take visa vie legal action against the President and/or his staff members and family. Spectrum discusses all of these issues with Elliott who spent a decade with the Associated Press before moving to TIME in 2015. He has covered politics, numerous campaigns, campaign finance, education and the White House. He is our eyes and ears inside the West Wing and gives us a “behind the curtain” look at this Presidency.