Author Michael Wolff claimed Thursday that the news media is so terrified of President Donald Trump and his threat of lawsuits that they won't go near his new book on the president.
Wolff described his book,All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America, as "an account, from sources in close and constant contact with him, of the mercurial if not daft behavior during the 2024 campaign, and of the flunkies and yes-men who surrounded him, many of whom now occupy senior-most roles in the new White House."
This is Wolff's fourth book on Trump. He wrote in The Hollywood Reporter that the president has threatened him over every new release.
"At that time, this was looked at by me along with my publisher and lawyers, and the general media community, as ludicrous posturing," Wolff wrote about a previous release. "John Sargent, the CEO of Macmillan, the publisher of my book, issued a blistering rejection of the White House’s efforts at coercion. I was welcomed by nearly every media outlet to continue my so-called libel against the president, and the book went on to sell 5 million copies worldwide."
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But Wolff claims that this time, there's a "new climate" of fear in Washington that seeks to steer clear of upsetting the president.
Wolff claims that "most every significant news outlet" that helped promote his other books has declined to have him on to speak about this one due to "the White House tirades" and threats of libel suits.
Wolff wrote, "To some degree, this is all predictable Trump stuff — God knows he has threatened the media enough. What was not anticipated is how quickly and easily the media has capitulated and groveled."
Wolff cites how the media of the past proudly stood up to Richard Nixon over the Pentagon Papers and Watergate with a clear message that news outlets would not be intimidated by the president.
"But in this new climate, where corporate parents are hostage to Trump’s whims — MSNBC’s parent, Comcast, is, for instance, spinning off the network and likely hoping to sell it, which will need regulatory approval from Trump’s FCC — news divisions don’t seem to have much of a chance," Wolff wrote.
He concluded, "Trump, in his war against the media and a free press, is winning."