Author Michael Wolff offered his frank assessment on Donald Trump’s Oval Office tirade against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, claiming the U.S. president has “no one he listens to”—which could complicate plans to broker peace.
Wolff told Sky News that where Zelensky erred stemmed from Trump’s own insecurities, saying the president often verbally steamrolls people who disagree with him. The two world leaders clashed on Friday over the U.S.‘s support for Ukraine, causing Trump to claim Zelensky was ungrateful and eventually kick him out of the White House.
During a segment on Sunday, Sky News host Trevor Phillips asked Wolff who Trump listens to for advice. Wolff was blunt: “No one matters to Donald Trump.”
“I say this without equivocation,” Wolff said. “I mean, there is, there is no one he turns to, no one he listens to. And ‘listens’ is very, this is very important point here, because he literally doesn’t listen. It’s as almost as though he doesn’t have the capability of listening.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Wolff, who has authored multiple, books on Trump’s presidency, including the recent All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America, said Zelensky angered Trump by telling him things he didn’t enjoy hearing instead of placating the president.
“Zelensky was trying to make a case, was trying to impart information that infuriates Donald Trump,” Wolff said. “Mostly, his way of dealing with that is to just never stop talking. Therefore nothing can— there is no incoming to Donald Trump."
“So all of those people around him will have, at this point, understood that you just can’t talk. You cannot say anything.”
Wolff’s sentiments came as multiple Trump advisers and allies blasted Zelensky on Sunday as ungrateful and suggested he should step down as president over his clash with Trump last week. Zelensky told Fox News on Friday that he would not apologize to Trump because he didn’t believe he did anything wrong.
“I respect the president and I respect American people‚” he told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “I think that we have to be very open and very honest, and I’m not sure that we did something bad.”
Trump has repeatedly hammered Wolff’s reporting on him, most recently posting on TruthSocial that his latest book “is a total FAKE JOB, just like the other JUNK he wrote.”
“He called me many times trying to set up a meeting, but I never called him back because I didn’t want to give him the credibility of an interview,” Trump said.
