Story highlights
- "You guys let him in. You guys opened the door," "New Day" co-host Chris Cuomo said
- "That was a mistake," Caputo replied
Washington (CNN)A former adviser to Donald Trump's presidential campaign said Monday that the decision to give White House access to the author of a bombshell book about the Trump administration was a mistake.
Michael Caputo told CNN's "New Day" that Michael Wolff's book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," is "trash."
"You guys let him in. You guys opened the door," "New Day" co-host Chris Cuomo said, referring to the interviews and White House access granted to Wolff.
"That was a mistake," Caputo replied.
"And you gave him tons of access, including the President who spoke to him about the book, so shame on you, not Michael Wolff, right?" Cuomo continued.
"No doubt," Caputo said.
In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Wolff alluded to the strategies he deployed in order to gain access in the White House, saying he felt like he was a blessed guest in the West Wing.
"I was sort of invited," Wolff said, adding that he discussed writing a book with the President, who approved it. "I went around, and it was as though it was basically me saying the President says this is, he likes this idea," he added.
Wolff said he "tried to be unobtrusive" while conducting research and interviews.
"I tried to not have anyone notice me, or not notice me above the level that they noticed the furniture, so my goal was to keep going until somebody said 'go away,'" he said.
The White House has strongly pushed back against claims in the book. Trump said last week he granted "zero access" to Wolff, press secretary Sarah Sanders called the book a "complete fantasy" and a personal attorney for Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to Wolff and his publisher.
NBC News, citing White House officials, has reported that Wolff last spoke with Trump by phone in early February 2017.