A new White House tell-all book from journalist Bob Woodward has officially gone on sale, as several former aides of US President Donald Trump sought to distance themselves from the depiction of a chaotic West Wing.
Former White House staff secretary Rob Porter and onetime economic adviser Gary Cohn both pushed back against the book, titled Fear, which portrays a White House mired in dysfunction.
It says aides disparage the Republican president and work to prevent him from making disastrous decisions.
While neither former staffer directly denied details in the book, Porter said in a statement that the book offers a "selective and often misleading portrait."
And Cohn told Axios that the "book does not accurately portray my experience at the White House."
Speaking to reporters in the White House on Tuesday, Trump praised his former aides' supportive statements and again labelled the book "fiction."
The book reached stores on Tuesday and has been No. 1 on Amazon since last week.
Publisher Simon & Schuster announced that one million copies will be printed, though even Amazon, the nation's biggest book retailer, couldn't keep up with demand.
Amazon said on Tuesday that Woodward's book is out of stock and will be available to ship in one to three weeks.
Australian Associated Press
