Five days after the release of the tell-all book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” President Trump defended his mental health, calling himself a “very stable genius.” And Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s former chief strategist, backed away from calling Donald Trump Jr. “treasonous.” Why did a publication with little new reporting in it cause such a big stir? Guests: Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The New York Times; Jeremy W. Peters, a Times journalist who has reported on Mr. Bannon for years. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

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