telling mattis kill him. and he put down the phone and said we re not going to do that. let s get the senator into this conversation. oh, thank you. i m glad the president didn t talk to bob woodward. if there s a strategy of keeping him away from talking to bob woodward, the staff did a good job of not giving him access. just like it would not be a good thing for him to talk to bob mueller. why? rick santorum, he has nothing to hide. why not explain that? it s not about having done anything wrong or improper but being caught saying one thing and having facts that show that what he said isn t comporting with the fact. isn t english for that a lie? the president has, as you knowa propensity for hyperbole and exaggeration and not necessarily squaring things with the facts.
there s a scene recounted in your work, a summary of the book, where the president in effect orders the assassination of bashar al assad of syria and it s quickly and completely ignored by his defense secretary. you have the president telling mattis and other defense officials go after assad in syria, kill him, an assassination order in a sense, and mattis saying we re not going to do that. there s another scene with mattis talking to the president about the late senator john mccain who was then alive. the president, according to woodward s account, says mccain was a coward and accepted early release from vietnam. mattis corrects him and says that is incorrect, sir, and the president kind of brushes off that respons. these scenes are just all over the book about people having these kinds of exchanges with the president. it s all based on woodward s reporting at this time. also, you mentioned this, between what the president