A tell-all book penned by renowned Watergate journalist Bob Woodward has made explosive new claims about President Donald Trump.

'Fear: Trump in the White House' tells of a chaotic administration having a "nervous breakdown of executive power".

The book, which is reportedly based on hundreds of hours of interviews with important players in the Trump administration, claims that many of the former reality TV star's staff attempted to deliberately protect the US from its president by ignoring his orders.

It also sees Trump naming his attempts to repair the damage made by his Charlotteville "blame on both sides" comment as the "biggest f**king mistake I've made".

The president has sent out a series of tweets denying the allegations in the book calling many of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's claims "made up frauds, a con on the public".

In excerpts of Woodward's new work, Chief of Staff John Kelly is quoted doubting Trump's mental wellness, saying in a staff meeting: "He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had."

The acclaimed journalist offers an insight into the former businessman's anger over his advisor's efforts to clean up his comment that there was "blame on both sides" in the August 2017 Charlotteville white nationalist rally.

Then-White House staff secretary Rob Porter allegedly convinced the president to clarify his remarks, leading him to denounce racism, the "KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups" in a televised speech.

However, Trump was reportedly livid in the aftermath of his speech, exploding at reports that it was "almost an admission of 'Okay, I was wrong'" and telling Porter: "That was the biggest f**king mistake I've made. You never make those concessions. You never apologize. I didn't do anything wrong in the first place. Why look weak?" One day later, he reasserted his original sentiment that "both sides" were to blame for the violence at a Trump Towel event.

Woodward's account of events also tells readers how the Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told "‘close associates that the president acted like and had the understanding of ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.'"

Mattis also allegedly told staff to ignore Trump's orders after the president expressed a desire to kill Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad in the wake of a chemical weapons attack in April 2017, saying: "Let’s fucking kill him!" Woodward quoted Mattis as telling staff afterwards: "We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured."

The book quotes Trump himself accusing his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, of being "mentally retarded", stating: "He’s this dumb southerner [who] couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama."

At another point in the tell-all book, Trump's former lawyer, John Dowd, is also quoted as telling the president to avoid interviews with Robert Mueller, because he'd surely indict himself. "Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jumpsuit," he allegedly told the president.

President Trump took to Twitter after excerpts of the book were released, slamming its credibility as well as publishing statements from key administration staff denying the claims in the book.

America's leader also claimed that Woodward was working for the Democratic party and that publication of the book was timed to damage the Republicans in the midterm elections in November.

White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, dismissed Woodward's work as "nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees".

"While it is not always pretty, and rare that the press actually covers it, president Trump has broken through the bureaucratic process to deliver unprecedented successes for the American people," she wrote. "Sometimes it is unconventional, but he always gets results. Democrats and their allies in the media understand the president’s policies are working and with success like this, no one can beat him in 2020 – not even close."

Bob Woodward has worked for the Washington Post since 1971 and remains an associate editor. He is famous for breaking the Watergate scandal along with Carl Bernstein, prompting the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

A tell-all book penned by renowned Watergate journalist Bob Woodward has made explosive new claims about President Donald Trump.

'Fear: Trump in the White House' tells of a chaotic administration having a "nervous breakdown of executive power".

The book, which is reportedly based on hundreds of hours of interviews with important players in the Trump administration, claims that many of the former reality TV star's staff attempted to deliberately protect the US from its president by ignoring his orders.

It also sees Trump naming his attempts to repair the damage made by his Charlotteville "blame on both sides" comment as the "biggest f**king mistake I've made".

The president has sent out a series of tweets denying the allegations in the book calling many of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's claims "made up frauds, a con on the public".

In excerpts of Woodward's new work, Chief of Staff John Kelly is quoted doubting Trump's mental wellness, saying in a staff meeting: "He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had."

The acclaimed journalist offers an insight into the former businessman's anger over his advisor's efforts to clean up his comment that there was "blame on both sides" in the August 2017 Charlotteville white nationalist rally.

Then-White House staff secretary Rob Porter allegedly convinced the president to clarify his remarks, leading him to denounce racism, the "KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups" in a televised speech.

However, Trump was reportedly livid in the aftermath of his speech, exploding at reports that it was "almost an admission of 'Okay, I was wrong'" and telling Porter: "That was the biggest f**king mistake I've made. You never make those concessions. You never apologize. I didn't do anything wrong in the first place. Why look weak?" One day later, he reasserted his original sentiment that "both sides" were to blame for the violence at a Trump Towel event.

Woodward's account of events also tells readers how the Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told "‘close associates that the president acted like and had the understanding of ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.'"

Mattis also allegedly told staff to ignore Trump's orders after the president expressed a desire to kill Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad in the wake of a chemical weapons attack in April 2017, saying: "Let’s fucking kill him!" Woodward quoted Mattis as telling staff afterwards: "We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured."

The book quotes Trump himself accusing his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, of being "mentally retarded", stating: "He’s this dumb southerner [who] couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama."

At another point in the tell-all book, Trump's former lawyer, John Dowd, is also quoted as telling the president to avoid interviews with Robert Mueller, because he'd surely indict himself. "Don’t testify. It’s either that or an orange jumpsuit," he allegedly told the president.

President Trump took to Twitter after excerpts of the book were released, slamming its credibility as well as publishing statements from key administration staff denying the claims in the book.

America's leader also claimed that Woodward was working for the Democratic party and that publication of the book was timed to damage the Republicans in the midterm elections in November.

White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, dismissed Woodward's work as "nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees".

"While it is not always pretty, and rare that the press actually covers it, president Trump has broken through the bureaucratic process to deliver unprecedented successes for the American people," she wrote. "Sometimes it is unconventional, but he always gets results. Democrats and their allies in the media understand the president’s policies are working and with success like this, no one can beat him in 2020 – not even close."

Bob Woodward has worked for the Washington Post since 1971 and remains an associate editor. He is famous for breaking the Watergate scandal along with Carl Bernstein, prompting the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.