President Donald Trump acknowledged Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, that some of his advisers may have spoken with author Michael Wolff for a revealing new book despite previous denials from his administration.
The admission came during a Truth Social tirade against Wolff’s forthcoming book, “All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America,” which is scheduled for release on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. The book contains several explosive allegations about the president and his inner circle.
“He called me many times trying to set up a meeting, but I never called him back because I didn’t want to give him the credibility of an interview,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Others in the Administration were also called, they reported his calls, and likewise, did not talk to him. I assume, however, he was able to speak to a small number of people, but not meaningfully.”
This apparent concession that some of his staff may have talked to Wolff seems to undercut the administration’s blanket denials about the book’s contents. The admission comes as the White House launched a scathing attack on Wolff’s credibility.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung issued a blistering statement in response to the book. “He (Wolff) routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain,” Cheung said.
Among the book’s most sensational claims is that First Lady Melania Trump “f—ing hates” her husband, and that the president was afraid he was about to die in a plane that was previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein.
The book also reportedly reveals that Wolff had earned credit for speaking with Epstein at length about Trump in August 2017, with Epstein describing himself as Trump’s “closest friend.”
The Daily Beast first reported these revelations, along with claims that Trump was “on the verge of cracking” after an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and was “bewildered” by Elon Musk’s behavior on the campaign trail.
According to Wolff’s book, Trump was confused by Musk’s awkward leap onto the stage at a campaign rally. “What the fuck is wrong with this guy?” Trump reportedly asked, also criticizing the fit of Musk’s shirt. The book claims Musk was “wandering about by himself” at the rally and was offered a “bag of pretzel sticks” to satisfy his hunger.
The book also alleges that Trump was considering choosing a woman as his running mate, including Fox News hosts Maria Bartiromo and Harris Faulkner, and that Musk told Trump his support for the ticket was contingent on Trump choosing J.D. Vance.
In his Sunday post, Trump predicted Wolff’s latest work would be “discredited,” pointing to Wolff’s 2018 bestseller, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” That publication sold millions of copies worldwide and included Steve Bannon among its sources. Bannon later expressed regret for his involvement.
“Wolff says he has sources, but he doesn’t have them, it’s a LIE, as is the case with many so-called ‘journalists.’ If he has sources, let them be revealed. Watch, it will never happen,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump further claimed that Wolff “mentions the people that surrounded me during the Election, and in many cases now, in derogatory terms, but they couldn’t have been that bad because here I am in the White House, refusing to take his calls.”
The president concluded his rant by calling Wolff “FAKE NEWS, a total LOSER,” and telling his followers that “no one should waste their time or money in buying this boring and obviously fictitious book!”
According to The New York Times’ review of the book, Wolff depicts Trump as an “aggrieved pugilist” who waged a “life or death” campaign to regain the presidency in 2024. The review suggests that Wolff’s reporting style, which relies on anonymous sources and verbatim transcripts, is well-suited to covering Trump’s unconventional presidency.
Wolff’s book covers Trump’s return to his Florida golf club after his 2020 loss, the January 6th Capitol riot, and his successful 2024 campaign. In response to these portions of the book, Trump staffers have dismissed it as “fiction” and “riddled with inaccuracies.”
Also included in the book is the claim that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner refused to sign a memo stating that Donald Trump was not antisemitic amid criticism of his stance on Israel.
This is not the first time Trump has faced unflattering portrayals in tell-all books. Previous works by former administration officials, including John Bolton, Mark Esper, William Barr, and Stephanie Grisham, have also painted critical pictures of Trump’s presidency. Many of these officials initially defended or stood by Trump before later breaking with him and criticizing his actions, particularly surrounding the 2020 election and the January 6th Capitol insurrection.
According to the publisher, “All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America” provides a behind-the-scenes account of what it describes as the “wildest, most unpredictable campaign in U.S. history.” The publisher claims the book details Trump’s relentless pursuit of power, his attacks on prosecutors and judges, and his mockery of political opponents, including the sitting president.
