In Michael Wolff’s book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, Wolff claims that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that President Donald Trump will “sign anything we put in front of him.”
Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon also suggested that McConnell did not want anything to do with “draining the swamp.”
Bannon reportedly said of one meeting between McConnell and then-President-elect Donald Trump:
McConnell Oh, Mitch McConnell when we first met him, I mean, he was– he was– he– he said, I think in one of the first meetings– in Trump Tower with the president– as we’re wrapping up, he basically says, “I don’t wanna hear any more of this ‘Drain the Swamp’ talk.” He says, “I can’t– I can’t hire any smart people,” because everybody’s all over him for reporting requirements and– and the pay, et cetera, and the scrutiny. You know, “You gotta back off that.” The “Drain the Swamp” thing was– is Mitch McConnell was Day One did not wanna– did not wanna go there. Wanted us to back off.
President Donald Trump rebuked the media for their obsession with the new Michael Wolff book.
Trump tweeted on Friday, “Well, now that collusion with Russia is proving to be a total hoax and the only collusion is with Hillary Clinton and the FBI/Russia, the Fake News Media (Mainstream) and this phony new book are hitting out at every new front imaginable. They should try winning an election. Sad!”
The president also tweeted, “I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also trashed the book as tabloid journalism.
“This book is filled with false and misleading accounts from individuals who have no access or influence with the White House,” Sanders said on Thursday.