Trump portrayed as uninformed unprepared and lacking focus in unflattering new book
Melania Trump
The inauguration of  President Trump  on Jan. 20  2017. (Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post)
During his campaign and tumultuous first year in office   President Trump  demonstrated little knowledge of policy details.  He  was not interested in advice that conflicted with  his  instincts  and it was often impossible for White House staff to figure out what course he wanted to take. One compared it to âtrying to figure out what a child wants.â
 Trump  is depicted as presiding over a chaotic White House  struggling to settle into  his  new reality and eagerly trying to maintain  his  normal golf habits.
In the book  set to be officially released next week  Wolff writes that  Trump  became upset that  he  couldnât give a Supreme Court seat to a friend rather than someone  he  didnât know.  He  casts  Trump  as having âlittle or no interestâ in Republican attempts to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. And Wolff says aides were incredulous over Trumpâs claims that President Obama had âwiretappedâ Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign.
 Trump  aides vigorously sought to undermine the book on Wednesday  with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying in a statement that it is âfilled with false and misleading accounts from individuals who have no access or influence with the White House.â
Wolff says that his book is based on 200 conversations over the past 18 months with  Trump   most members of his senior staff  some of whom he talked to dozens of times  and many people with whom they had spoken. Some conversations were on the record  while others were off the record or on âdeep background â allowing him to relay a âdisembodied description of events provided by an unnamed witness to them.â
At a White House briefing Wednesday afternoon  Sanders said  Trump  only had âone brief conversationâ with Wolff and that most dialogue with White House staff was coordinated by one person: former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon  whom  Trump  dismissed in an unusually harsh statement  saying he âhas nothing to do with me or my presidency.â
[ Trump  slams Bannon: âWhen he was fired  he not only lost his job  he lost his mindâ]
During the campaign â which few aides expected  Trump  to win â and the transition that followed  Wolff writes about several instances in which Trumpâs lack of knowledge and interest in public affairs was evident.
Early in the campaign  for example   Trump  aide Sam Nunberg was sent to explain the Constitution to the candidate  Wolff writes  and Nunberg offered this assessment of the experience: âI got as far as the Fourth Amendment before his finger is pulling down on his lip and his eyes are rolling back in his head.â
Wolff reports that in early August 2016   Trump  asked former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes to take over management of the campaign. Ailes turned him down  Wolff writes  because he knew of Trumpâs disinclination to take advice âor even listen to it.â
After  Trump  prevailed   Trump  turned to Ailes for advice on a chief of staff  the book says.
âWhoâs that?â  Trump  reportedly asked  unaware that Boehner had been the speaker of the House until he was forced out in a tea party putsch in 2015.
Wolff also writes that Reince Priebus â the chairman of the Republican National Committee who later became the chief of staff â was alarmed how often during the transition  Trump  offered people jobs on the spot  including many  he  had never met before.
Wolff writes that one of the reasons  Trump  didnât want John Bolton  a famously hawkish diplomat  as his national security adviser  was because of his mustache.
âBoltonâs mustache is a problem â Wolff quotes Bannon saying. â Trump  doesnât think  he  looks the part.â
The inauguration of  President Trump  on Jan. 20  2017. (Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post)
During his campaign and tumultuous first year in office   President Trump  demonstrated little knowledge of policy details.  He  was not interested in advice that conflicted with  his  instincts  and it was often impossible for White House staff to figure out what course he wanted to take. One compared it to âtrying to figure out what a child wants.â
 Trump  is depicted as presiding over a chaotic White House  struggling to settle into  his  new reality and eagerly trying to maintain  his  normal golf habits.
In the book  set to be officially released next week  Wolff writes that  Trump  became upset that  he  couldnât give a Supreme Court seat to a friend rather than someone  he  didnât know.  He  casts  Trump  as having âlittle or no interestâ in Republican attempts to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. And Wolff says aides were incredulous over Trumpâs claims that President Obama had âwiretappedâ Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign.
 Trump  aides vigorously sought to undermine the book on Wednesday  with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying in a statement that it is âfilled with false and misleading accounts from individuals who have no access or influence with the White House.â
Wolff says that his book is based on 200 conversations over the past 18 months with  Trump   most members of his senior staff  some of whom he talked to dozens of times  and many people with whom they had spoken. Some conversations were on the record  while others were off the record or on âdeep background â allowing him to relay a âdisembodied description of events provided by an unnamed witness to them.â
At a White House briefing Wednesday afternoon  Sanders said  Trump  only had âone brief conversationâ with Wolff and that most dialogue with White House staff was coordinated by one person: former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon  whom  Trump  dismissed in an unusually harsh statement  saying he âhas nothing to do with me or my presidency.â
[ Trump  slams Bannon: âWhen he was fired  he not only lost his job  he lost his mindâ]
During the campaign â which few aides expected  Trump  to win â and the transition that followed  Wolff writes about several instances in which Trumpâs lack of knowledge and interest in public affairs was evident.
Early in the campaign  for example   Trump  aide Sam Nunberg was sent to explain the Constitution to the candidate  Wolff writes  and Nunberg offered this assessment of the experience: âI got as far as the Fourth Amendment before his finger is pulling down on his lip and his eyes are rolling back in his head.â
Wolff reports that in early August 2016   Trump  asked former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes to take over management of the campaign. Ailes turned him down  Wolff writes  because he knew of Trumpâs disinclination to take advice âor even listen to it.â
After  Trump  prevailed   Trump  turned to Ailes for advice on a chief of staff  the book says.
âWhoâs that?â  Trump  reportedly asked  unaware that Boehner had been the speaker of the House until he was forced out in a tea party putsch in 2015.
Wolff also writes that Reince Priebus â the chairman of the Republican National Committee who later became the chief of staff â was alarmed how often during the transition  Trump  offered people jobs on the spot  including many  he  had never met before.
Wolff writes that one of the reasons  Trump  didnât want John Bolton  a famously hawkish diplomat  as his national security adviser  was because of his mustache.
âBoltonâs mustache is a problem â Wolff quotes Bannon saying. â Trump  doesnât think  he  looks the part.â