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Donald Trumps utter unfitness for the presidency has been laid bare in Michael Wolffs new book. What will it take for his party to remove him from office?

What did you think would be the Republican reaction to the latest revelations about Donald Trump? Did you expect the partys luminaries to drop their collective head into their hands, or to crumple into a heap in despair at the state of the man they anointed as president of the United States?

Theyd certainly have had good reason. In the book Fire and Fury, which on Thursday received the greatest possible endorsement namely a cease and desist order from Trumps personal lawyers the journalist Michael Wolff paints a picture of a man whose own closest aides, friends and even family believe is congenitally unfit to be president.

The Trump depicted in the book is ignorant: the adviser who tried to teach him about the constitution could get no further than the fourth amendment before Trumps eyes glazed over. He doesnt read, or even skim, barely having the patience to take in a headline. Some allies try to persuade Wolff that attention deficit disorder is part of Trumps populist genius: he is post-literate total television.

The Republicans have predicted many times that Trump would change. They've been wrong every time. He wont change

He is also loathsome: we read that a favourite sport of Trumps was tricking friends wives to sleep with him. He is weird, especially in the bedroom: having clashed with his secret service bodyguard over his insistence that he be able to lock himself into his quarters (Melania has separate accommodation), he demanded the installation of two extra TV sets, so he could watch three cable news channels at once. He heads back under the covers as early as 6.30pm, munching a cheeseburger as he soaks up hours of Fox and CNN. If there are crumbs, the chambermaid cant change the sheets: he insists that he strip the bed himself.

We learn that Trump believes Saturday Night Live is damaging to the nation and that it is fake comedy; that daughter Ivanka wants to be president herself and that privately she mocks her fathers nature-defying combover. And, perhaps most amusingly, we get an answer to the question that has long enraged Trump: the identity of the mystery leaker behind the stream of stories of White House chaos and fratricidal dysfunction that have appeared since he took office. It turns out that the president rants endlessly on the phone to his billionaire friends, who feel no duty of confidentiality. In other words, the leaker Trump seeks is himself.

Given all this material, youd forgive congressional Republicans for being glum. Alternatively, youd understand if they tried to denounce the book, perhaps joining those who question Wolffs methods, believing he too often strays from corroborated facts and cuts journalistic corners. But that has not been the reaction.

Instead, the official campaign account for Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, tweeted a gif of McConnell grinning mightily. And that smirk captured the mood of many of his colleagues. What do they have to smile about? Theyre pleased because they believe Fire and Fury marks the downfall of Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist to Trump and source of some of the books most scathing lines. It was Bannon who told Wolff that Trump had lost it, and Bannon who described the meeting Donald Trump Jr had with a Russian lawyer convened for the express purpose of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton as treasonous.

Trumps response came in the form of a long and furious statement that loosely translates into New Yorkese as Youre dead to me which delighted establishment Republicans who have long seen Bannon as the enemy within.

It would be nice if this loathing were rooted in ideological principle, with Republicans despising Bannon as the apostle of an ultra-nationalist isolationism and xenophobia that could tip the US and the world towards a 1930s-style catastrophe. (Recall that Bannon once promised Wolff the Trump administration would be as exciting as the 1930s.)

But the truth is that Bannon posed a threat to McConnell and his ilk, vowing to run insurgent, Trump-like candidates against establishment Republicans in primary contests (just as he did, in vain, in Alabama last year). If Bannon is broken, they can sleep more easily.

Some go further, believing that, as Bannon dies, so does Bannonism. They speculate that, with the ties to his onetime evil genius severed, Trump might now moderate, becoming a more conventional, focused occupant of the Oval Office. This is delusional, twice over.

First, its true that things look bad for Bannon now: he has apparently lost the financial backing of the billionaire Mercer family, and its possible he stands to lose control of his far-right Breitbart media empire. But he understands Trump and knows that, if youre ready to grovel and flatter, a rapprochement is always possible. Hence Bannons declaration on Thursday that Trump is a great man.

But the more enduring delusion is that Trump is poised to moderate. Republicans predicted he would change once the primaries of 2016 were under way. Then they said he would change once hed won the party nomination. Or when the presidential election campaign proper began. Or when hed won the election. Or once hed taken the oath of office. They were wrong every time. He wont change. Trump is Trump.

The sheer persistence of this delusion points to another one: the hope that Republicans will finally decide enough is enough and do the right thing by ousting this unfit president. The Wolff book has prompted another flurry of that speculation, focused this time on the 25th amendment of the constitution, which allows for the removal of a president deemed unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.

In an article this week, Wolff provides arresting evidence of mental deterioration. He writes that Trump would tell the same three stories, word-for-word, inside 30 minutes, unaware he was repeating himself. Now it was within 10 minutes. He adds: At Mar-a-Lago, just before the new year, a heavily made-up Trump failed to recognise a succession of old friends. But the 25th amendment requires the agreement of the vice-president, a majority of the cabinet and, ultimately, both houses of Congress. We are, once again, up against the sobering truth of the US constitution: it is only as strong as those willing to enforce it. And, today, that means the Republican party.

These latest revelations prove yet again what a vile, narcissistic and dangerous man we have in the Oval Office, wielding, among other things, sole, unchecked authority over the worlds mightiest nuclear arsenal. But the reaction to them proves something else too. That he remains in place only thanks to the willing connivance of his Republican enablers. As culpable as he is, they share in his damnation.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

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Fire and Fury confirms our worst fears about the Republicans

ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey will clean its entire border with Syria in a sign that the Turkish offensive on the Syrian Kurdish YPG group in northern Syrias Afrin region could be extended further.

Since Turkeys assault in Afrin began nine days ago, it has increased tensions between Ankara and the United States, which has supported the YPG in other parts of Syria in the fight against Islamic State.

Step by step, we will clean our entire border, Erdogan said in a speech after the army said it had captured Jebel Bursaya, a hill that Turkish media had described as a critical position in recent days.

Erdogan said last week that Turkey might conduct operations eastwards inside Syria all the way to Iraq to clear the YPG from its frontier. Syrian Kurdish officials have pledged to meet any wider Turkish assault with an appropriate response.

More than a week into their offensive, however, Turkey and allied Syrian rebel groups have made only modest progress fighting into hilly terrain against entrenched foes.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of militias of which the YPG is the strongest, had said earlier on Sunday that there was intense fighting in the area.

A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Turkey and its allied rebel groups had taken the hill, which overlooks the major Syrian town of Azaz, which they also hold.

The Observatory said Turkish air strikes had killed three people in one family early on Sunday in Afrin. Turkish bombardment also damaged an ancient temple, it said.

Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky

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Erdogan says Turkey will 'clean' entire Syrian border | Reuters

Last Updated Jan 28, 2018 7:07 PM EST

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Mike Pence is headlining a fundraiser Monday at the Trump International Hotel in Washington to benefit his leadership PAC to help Republican candidates in the 2018 mid-term elections.

The fundraiser is expected to raise about $500,000 and Pence is expected to be introduced by Donald Trump Jr., the president's son. That's according to a person familiar with the planned fundraiser. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the private event.

The person said the event is expected to draw congressional leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Pence's Great America Committee was launched last year and has supported several Republican lawmakers. Pence will campaign in Pennsylvania on Friday on behalf of Rick Saccone, who is running in a special election.

2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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JERUSALEM -- Vice President Mike Pence addressed the Israeli Knesset, or parliament, on Monday, strongly reaffirming the United States' unwavering commitment to its Middle Eastern ally and lauding his boss, President Donald Trump, for righting "a 70-year wrong" with his contentious decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital city of the Jewish state. Pence told the gathered lawmakers that Mr. Trump had kept "his word to the American people" in recognizing Jerusalem.

But in spite of Pence's assertion that the U.S. remains "fully committed to achieving a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," Jerusalem move has left the two key parties to the already flailing peace process further apart than they have been in years. The Palestinians are boycotting Mr. Pence's visit to the region over the dramatic pivot away from decades of U.S. foreign policy.

Pence committed in his speech to the Knesset to seeing the U.S. Embassy in Israel moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and reopened next year -- shortening the schedule on what has been another massive bone of contention with the Palestinians and the wider Arab world.

While Pence's declaration of a quicker move into a new embassy is sure to heighten the frustration of Palestinians and America's Arab allies, it also highlights differing opinions within the Trump administration. CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has yet to sign off on the safety plans to approve what Pence announced in Jerusalem.

He will do so, reports Brennan, when he's sure that safety and security concerns are met. Administration officials say Tillerson and Pence are on the same page, despite the coordination issue with the announcement. Brennan reported last week that the decision to shorten the timeline for the move was made at the urging of Jared Kushner and his team, largely for political reasons and against the advice of the State Department, which is responsible for the security of U.S. personnel abroad.

President Trump's deputy kicked off his first visit to Israel by meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. In spite of the fact that he flew into the Middle East on a wave of Palestinian anger over the Trump administration's unilateral recognition of the holy city as Israel's capital, Pence declared his hope that the world was witnessing "the dawn of a new era" in stagnant peace talks which have daunted politicians across the planet for decades.

CBS News Radio correspondent Robert Berger reports Pence was to hold two days of talks with Israeli leaders and visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem's disputed Old City, but the centerpiece of his visit to Israel was his speech to the Knesset.

He has received a warm welcome in Israel, which has praised the American decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. But that decision hasinfuriated the Palestiniansandupset America's Arab alliesas well.

Meeting with Netanyahu, Pence said it was an honor to be in "Israel's capital, Jerusalem." Netanyahu told Pence it was the first time a visiting dignitary could utter those three words along with him, and he thanked Pence for Mr. Trump's "historic" recognition of Jerusalem. The Israeli leader also lauded the American-Israeli alliance, which he said has "never been stronger."

He told the Knesset that he would "strongly urge" the Palestinians to rejoin a peace dialogue.

Pence said he was grateful to be representing Mr. Trump and that his decision to designate Jerusalem as the Israeli capital would "create an opportunity to move on in good faith negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority."

The vice president said he was hopeful "we are at the dawn of a new era of renewed discussions to achieve a peaceful resolution to a decades-long conflict."

Pence will not meet with Palestinian officials, who are boycotting his visit.

Before Israel, Pence stopped in Egypt and then Jordan, where close U.S. ally King Abdullah II appealed to him to "rebuild trust and confidence" in the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict following the fallout from the administration's decision on Jerusalem.

Pence, in turn, tried to reassure the monarch that the Trump administration remains committed to restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, and that it views Jordan as a central player.

The vice president said that "the United States of America remains committed, if the parties agree, to a two state solution." That caveat deviated from long-standing U.S. support for a two-state solution as the only possible outcome of any peace deal.

President Trump's pivot on Jerusalem last month infuriated the Palestinians, who seek the Israeli-annexed eastern sector of the city as a future capital. They accused the U.S. of siding with Israel and said Washington can no longer serve as a mediator.

Jerusalem is the emotional centerpiece of the long-running conflict, and Mr. Trump's policy shift set off protests and condemnation across Arab and Muslim countries. Abdullah expressed his concerns about the regional fallout from the Jerusalem decision to Pence.

"Today we have a major challenge to overcome, especially with some of the rising frustrations," he said. He described the Pence visit as a mission "to rebuild trust and confidence" in getting to a two-state solution, in which a state of Palestine would be established in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967.

Another cause of concern for Jordan is the Trump administration's decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Jordan vehemently opposes such a move if taken ahead of an Israeli-Palestinian partition deal.

Israel views Jerusalem as its unified capital, but a longstanding international consensus holds that the city's final status should be decided through negotiations, which was also U.S. policy going back decades.

In this handout photo provided by the Israel Government Press Office, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (L) is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an official welcome ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office, Jan. 22, 2018 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Getty/Handout

Palestinians view Mr. Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as a blatantly one-sided move. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would not meet with Trump administration officials and called off a meeting with Pence that had been scheduled for mid-December.

Pence was to deliver a speech to the Israeli Knesset, or parliament, later Monday before holding a joint news conference with Netanyahu. The two men were then to have dinner together in Jerusalem.

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U.S. Vice President Mike Pencevisited theWestern Wallin the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday.Confirming Haaretz's earlier reports, Pence's visit to the site, which is located beyond the 1967 lines and therefore not recognized by the world as part of Israel, took place without the presence of any Israeli political leaders,just like the visit U.S. President Donald Trump made to the holy site in May.

During Pence's visit, female journalists accompanying the vice president were separated from their male colleagues and sent away to a fenced and covered area in the back of the Western Wall compound.

The incident provoked outrage among the American female journalists accompanying him. Following their protest, White House personnel have commenced removing the covering as part of a compromise, so the journalists could stand atop chairs and catch a view of the visit.

One of the female journalists present, Globes reporter Tal Schneider, told Haaretz: "I don't like being restricted in my job just because I'm a woman. I can't stand it and it's unacceptable in the modern world. This discriminatory attitude towards women is infuriating and inappropriate in a modern country." Other female journalists present used the #PenceFence hashtag when discussing the event on social media.

Pence was accompanied only by the rabbi in charge of the site, and the media arrangements were handled by the American embassy in Israel, not the Israeli government press office.

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As tradition prescribes, Pence inserted a note into the cracks of the wall and recited a short prayer. According to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Pence, together with Kotel Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, also recited Psalms 121 and 122. The foundation proceeded to gift the vice president and his wife, Karen Pence, with a handmade, stone Hanukkah menorah inscribed with the sentence, "We should know how to spread light and chase darkness from the world."

Earlier in the day, Pence met with President Reuven Rivlin, saying that President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is the clearest sign of America's commitment to Israel. He expressed hope that the decision would advance the peace process.

At a press conference before their meeting at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, the vice president said: "We believe the bond between us has never been stronger, but under President Trump's leadership, we are committed to making it stronger still."

He added that his country would continue its trade and security collaboration with Israel, and repeated his statement from Monday night that "the time has come for changes in the Iran nuclear deal that will ensure that the sunset provisions in the deal are completely eliminated, and that punitive sanctions will be available for many years to come."

Rivlin called Pence a "mensch" and said Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital was a gift for Israel's 70th independence anniversary. Rivlin added that despite the harsh remarks by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last week, Israel must continue to try to find a way to build trust between the two nations. He expressed regret that there is currently no trust between the two sides, and added that it is the fate of Israel and the Palestinians to live together.

Pence then visitedYad Vashem Holocaust Museum, where he participated in a wreath-laying ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance. Engraved on the mosaic floor of the Hall of Remembrance are the names of 22 Nazi murder sites, symbolic of the hundreds of extermination and concentration camps, transit camps and killing sites that existed throughout Europe.

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Pence's visit to Israel will draw to a close later in the afternoon, with his departure and return to the U.S. scheduled at 5:20 P.M. Originally, his trip was also supposed to include a stop in Bethlehem and a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. However, following Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital, the Palestinians claimed that the U.S. is no longer a suitable mediator in the peace process and retracted Pence's invitation, saying he was no longer welcome in Palestine.

The vice president kicked off his trip to the region on Saturday, witha visit to Egypt, where he pledged firm U.S. backing to the nation's fight against militants. While in Cairo, Pence also said Trump is "firmly committed" to restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

In Jordan, Pence's second stop, the vice president met the country's King Abdullah,who voiced concernover Trump's recognition of Jerusalem and insisted that East Jerusalem must be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

After arriving in Israel on Sunday,Pence met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuon Monday in the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. Meeting privately, Pence told Netanyahu it was a "great honor" to be in "Israel's capital, Jerusalem" and that he is hopeful "we are at the dawn of a new era" of renewed efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Later, Penceaddressed a special sessionof Knesset on Monday, where he announced that the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will open by the end of 2019. In his remarks, Pence said America was committed to forging a "lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians" and called on the Palestinians who are boycotting his visit to return to the negotiating table.

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U.S. Vice President Mike Pence tours the Western Wall in ...