Trump Jr.: White House circle of trust is 'much smaller' following op-ed, Woodward book

Donald Trump Jr. lamented on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that the number of White House aides his father trusts is "much smaller" in the wake of allegations that some inside the Trump administration have sought to subvert portions of the president's agenda. “I think there are people in there that he can trust, it's just — it's a much smaller group than I would like it to be,” Trump Jr. said the ABC interview that aired on Tuesday. “It would be easier to get things done if you’re able to fully trust everyone around you,” Trump Jr. added. “I think that’s a shame.” The Trump administration has worked over the past week to push back against the latest wave of damaging reports to emerge from the White House, including a New York Times op-ed penned by an anonymous senior administration official and an incendiary book authored by veteran Washington journalist Bob Woodward. Both paint a picture of President Donald Trump as impetuous, impulsive and petty, detailing how some inside the administration have endeavored to stop the president from taking certain actions. In his interview, Trump Jr. called the Times op-ed “pretty disgusting” and “sad." Trump's eldest son also echoed his father's call for the Department of Justice to investigate the author of the op-ed — someone he said he believes is a "low-level person," despite the New York Times identifying the author as a senior official. When asked if any laws were indeed broken, Trump Jr. said the op-ed's author had "subert[ed] the will of the people." "I mean, to try to control the presidency while not the president. You have millions and millions of Americans who voted for this,” Trump Jr. said on ABC. Trump last week demanded on Twitter that the "Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!" Trump Jr. has been campaigning for Republicans over the summer, and has started a fall fundraising drive along with former Fox News anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle. The pair will reportedly make stops in Ohio, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Montana, Louisiana and Texas. The president's son, who along with his brother Eric Trump operate the Trump Organization, anticipated that the Robert Mueller's investigation will continue to play a role in the midterms and beyond — even into 2020 — predicting that “there will never be a conclusive end” to the investigation. But he's not concerned about his own culpability. “I’m not because I know what I did and I’m not worried about it,” Trump Jr. said on ABC. Additionally, Trump Jr. admitted that historically, the odds would be stacked against Republicans this election cycle, but that if Trump voters show up to vote they could "break history." He added that if Trump is impeached, it would be the fault of Republican voters who didn't show up to vote in November. source: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/11/trump-jr-op-ed-woodward-book-813734 #Headlines by: egoldberg@politico.com (Emily Goldberg)

Original Post: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/11/trump-jr-op-ed-woodward-book-813734