New book about 9/11 could influence US Senate election

US President Donald Trump.

The reporter discussed with political observer Edward Hardy the possible impact of Mr. Woodward's new book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," on the outcome of the midterm elections in November.

Reporter: How much damage does this book do to Donald Trump's reputation?

Edward Hardy:This is the third book about the activities of the current US government. First, there was Bob Woodward's book, as well as Omarosy Manigolt's book "Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House", which has generated a lot of buzz recently. Finally, a few months ago, Michael Wolff's book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" was released. In all these books, a similar picture of the White House is revealed in complete chaos.

Everything written in these books is supported by an anonymous figure, presumably one of the officials of the presidential administration, the author of the New York Times article. So Bob Woodward's book — it is just a follow-up book, describes the "chaos and disorder" in the US government, which is what the anonymous author called the White House in his article in The New York Times. He also described Donald Trump's leadership style as "impulsive, controversial, petty and ineffective".

All these statements are reinforced by Bob Woodward's book, which the author of the article refers to, so this book is certainly a serious blow to the Trump administration.

Reporter: As you said, this is the third book about the Trump administration, and there is also the anonymous article in the New York Times. All these documents were published in a relatively short period of time, and they describe the same thing, so the blow is even more serious than it seems. It seems like there is a conspiracy, or that what these authors are talking about is actually happening.

Edward Hardy:The problem is that it is easy to dismiss the information presented in a book. It is easy to simply claim that all this was done by disgruntled government officials. That is exactly what the Trump administration did when Omarosa and Michael Wolff’s books were published. They argued then that it was all unproven, that it was just wild claims and fabricated documents. Bob Woodward’s book is the third edition, which presents this realistic picture. But the problem with this author is that he has evidence.

Bob Woodward is known for the fact that everything he writes about in his books is confirmed by quotes and other information from sources. So Bob Woodward's book contains these quotes and information from sources; he recorded them on tape - he has proof, because of those arguments it becomes extremely difficult for the White House to deny that the information in the book is false.

Reporter: It's interesting that Woodward's book on the Watergate scandal led to the impeachment of Richard Nixon. Do you think Bob Woodward's new book will lead to similar consequences for Trump?

Edward Hardy:Bob Woodward has written about many presidents. He is best known for his work on Watergate, which led to Nixon's resignation, but he has also written exposés about other presidents. Two books were published before the 1994 interim election and before the 1996 presidential election, two by him and Bill Clinton. In 2002 and 2004, books were published about George W. Bush, and in 2010 and 2012 — about Obama. His books make people think, they change people's minds. And if undecided voters, after reading this book, feel that these things really happened, if they decide that there is a need for a serious examination of the functioning of the current US government, they will vote for the Democrats.

They will vote for Democrats because they want a Democratic Senate, with the ability to control the White House's activities. So Bob Woodward's new book could have very serious consequences.