The controversial book “Fire and Fury” is still being sold like hot cakes. The US president, Trump is trying to do everything in his power to stop the printing by threatening to sue the publisher. His attempts are only fuelling public interest. Michael Wolf, the author of the book must be laughing all the way to the bank while Steve Bannon seems to be the loser in this episode.
However, the event raises a question about the motive behind writing a book that does not earn any merit. The writer is just cashing in on public curiosity. The bigger question is the distraction that is being rendered by allegations that crop up every now and then, starting from Russian involvement in influencing election results, the president’s lack of political and administrative experience, his confrontation with North Korea and the new sanctions on Iran.
The book now adds to the piles of issues that Trump needs to tackle. The whole situation acts like a double whammy for Trump to lose focus on the core tasks as the president of US where he should have been dealing with a serious issue like a crumbling economy, immigrant policies and war on terrorism.
Kicking out members from his administration since he took office, has tarnished the image of president’s ability to deal with differences of opinions. Trump has already antagonised many prominent figures including Omarosa Manigault, the former “Apprentice” star and adviser, Tom Price, Sebastian Gorka, nationalist arm of the Trump administration and Steve Bannon to name a few. Like any other controversies, Trump would most likely overcome the hurdle created by this book, too. But, each time he is subjected to these kind of issues, they are like another straw on the camel’s back.
— The reader is an Indian business development coordinator, based in Dubai.
