‘Read my book’: Michael Wolff spars with CNN’s Smerconish in heated interview

Author Michael Wolff on Saturday sparred with CNN host Michael Smerconish over his new expose on the Trump administration, telling the host to just “read my book.” 

Smerconish questioned Wolff’s reporting in “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” telling the author that it “begs interesting questions as to what grounds you were able to pull up that sofa in the West Wing.” 

{mosads}

“Read my book, that’s all I have, that is my final word,” an exasperated Wolff told the CNN host.

“It’s just a book. You either like it, or you don’t like it,” says “Fire and Fury,” author Michael Wolf during a fiery interview with @smerconish https://t.co/cx5kPffeni https://t.co/sgEa1a57Df

— CNN (@CNN) January 13, 2018

President Trump, who is portrayed as an incompetent and incurious head of state in the new book, claimed he “authorized zero access” for Wolff in writing the “phony book.” 

In the 18 months during which Wolff said he held over 200 interviews with administration and Trump campaign officials, he has said he had “something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing.” 

“It’s just a book, I’ve written a book, you either like it or you don’t like it, so far it quite seems that many … people like it and it speaks to them,” Wolff said, rebuffing questions over his reporting methods. 

“I just find it unusual you get the final word,” Smerconish said, addressing Wolff’s petitions to end the interview. “You can both enjoy the book and question some of its content.” 

The longtime media reporter’s book has drawn criticism from journalists over what some have said are factual errors or misquoted lines from interviewees.