Donald Trump denies calling his attorney general ‘mentally retarded’

U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter Tuesday night to deny that he called Attorney General Jeff Sessions “mentally retarded” and a “dumb southerner.”

The remarks attributed to the president are contained in Fear: Trump in the White House, an upcoming book by veteran investigative journalist Bob Woodward.

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The book is based in interviews that were conducted on “deep background” — Woodward, famous for breaking the Watergate story alongside Carl Bernstein, did not reveal his sources but he did say who was present when words were spoken.

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The book has Trump mocking Sessions’ southern accent alongside other insults.

Trump denied those remarks on his Twitter account:

Trump was the third public official to deny comments attributed to him in Woodward’s book on Tuesday.

Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis dismissed as the product of “someone’s rich imagination” an episode in which he was described telling colleagues that Trump “had the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader.”

This, after Trump allegedly wanted to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before Mattis called for air strikes instead.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, meanwhile, is reported in the book to have called the president an “idiot” and referred to his administration as “crazytown.”

“The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true, in fact it’s exactly the opposite,” he said Tuesday.

READ MORE: James Mattis, John Kelly deny insulting Donald Trump as claimed in new book

Fear: Trump in the White House will be released on Sept. 11.

• With files from Rebecca Joseph