Can Fire and Fury hurt Donald Trump?
Michael Wolff's book about Donald Trump, Fire and Fury, went on sale in book stores on Friday. It describes power struggles in the White House and paints a negative picture of the US president's mental health. But not all commentators believe the publication has the power to hurt Trump.
Publication not dangerous for Trump
Michael Wolff's book can hardly do Trump any harm politically, Jutarnji list believes:
“It consists mostly of hearsay about conflicts within the Trump administration, but you could write about that with any government. ... Will the book influence voters? Hardly. During his first year in office Trump has defined his real voter base, roughly 35 percent of Americans who despite everything still support him. Nothing bothers them when it comes to him and they will always agree with Trump that it's just fake news with which envious losers are trying to hurt him.”
Success is all that counts
The book's revelations will be irrelevant as long as the stock markets and growth statistics attest to Trump's success, the Irish Independent believes:
“Big Macs in bed or not, Trump remains on a roll. If he continues this economic success, the former real estate developer will bulldoze into the 2020 election with a massive advantage. ... So the liberal elites can pour over their copies of Fire and Fury in their plush apartments on the east coast of America while dissecting the latest revelations. They may think they only have to wait four years for Trump's antics to bring about his undoing, but as long as the booming economy continues, Trump can eat fillet of Bambi in bed and dye his hair bright pink for all his supporters care - he'll still get re-elected.”
Only resignation can prevent further damage
Trump's resignation is very much on the cards in view of these latest revelations, Kaleva counters:
“If only part of the book is true it lends weight to the view that the world's biggest superpower is being ruled by an unpredictable, unstable individual with precious little knowledge of many matters that come under his area of responsibility. The good news is that so far Trump hasn't caused complete chaos in global politics. In foreign and security policy he's surrounded by people like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary James Mattis, who you could say represent the voice of reason. ... Of course the real estate billionaire could still do a lot of damage unless Russiagate or some other scandal doesn't force him to step down. But in view of the evidence available, that's entirely possible.”
White House limiting the damage
The book doesn't provide much insight, journalist Andrej Brstovšek concludes. Only one chapter features new information, he writes in Dnevnik:
“Michael Wolff's book tells us most in the section in which it reveals that the people around Donald Trump are aware of his shortcomings and trying to limit the damage they cause. ... The next three years will show whether the claim that contradicts the assumption that the US president is the most powerful person in the world is true - namely that the political tradition and the checks and balances are strong enough to survive even the most complicated resident of the White House in the long term.”