\n\u00a0Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairmanCredit:
\nAP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHours before the statement came out, administration officials used appearances on the Sunday news shows to rally behind Trump and try to undermine Wolff\u2019s "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," which portrays the 45th president as a leader who doesn\u2019t understand the weight of his office and whose competence is questioned by aides.<\/p>\n
Chief policy adviser Stephen Miller, in a combative appearance on CNN, described the book as "nothing but a pile of trash through and through."<\/p>\n
He also criticised Bannon, who is quoted at length by Wolff, saying it was "tragic and unfortunate" that Bannon "would make these grotesque comments so out of touch with reality and obviously so vindictive."<\/p>\n
CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Mr Trump was "completely fit" to lead the country, pausing before answering because, he said on "Fox News Sunday," it was such "a ludicrous question."<\/p>\n
"These are from people who just have not accepted the fact that President Trump is the United States president and I’m sorry for them in that," said Pompeo, who gives Trump his regular intelligence briefings.<\/p>\n
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that she is at the White House once a week, and "no one questions the stability of the president."<\/p>\n
"I\u2019m always amazed at the lengths people will go to, to lie for money and for power. This is like taking it to a whole new low," she told ABC\u2019s "This Week."<\/p>\n
Profile | Steve Bannon<\/aside>\n
To Miller, "the portrayal of the president in the book is so contrary to reality, to the experience of those who work with him."<\/p>\n
Miller\u2019s interview on CNN\u2019s "State of the Union" quickly grew heated, with Miller criticizing CNN\u2019s coverage and moderator Jake Tapper pressing Miller to answer his questions and accusing him of speaking to only one viewer: Trump.<\/p>\n
Tapper abruptly ended the interview, saying: "I think I\u2019ve wasted enough of my viewers\u2019 time."<\/p>\n
Soon after, Trump tweeted: "Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunky!"<\/p>\n
Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to defend his fitness for office, insisting he is "like, really smart" and, indeed, a "very stable genius." He pressed the case again on Sunday as he prepared to depart Camp David for the White House.<\/p>\n