Trump's former communications chief says he's 'terrified' of a forthcoming book by The New York Times' Maggie Haberman

• Alyssa Farah said former President Donald Trump is "terrified" of Maggie Haberman's upcoming book.
• Axios reported that it contains details about Trump's habit of flushing documents down the toilet.

Former President Donald Trump's former communications director said Thursday that Trump is "terrified" of a forthcoming book by The New York Times' reporter Maggie Haberman.

Alyssa Farah made the comment during an appearance on ABC's "The View." It came after Axios obtained an excerpt of Haberman's book saying that Trump's aides believed he routinely clogged a White House toilet by flushing wads of paper down it. Haberman's book also reportedly says Trump has told people he is still in touch with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"I still talk to some folks in Trumpworld, the ones who have not engaged in criminality," Farah said Thursday. "The former president is terrified of Maggie Haberman's book. This is the first big anecdote, but there is quite a bit more to come."

Joy Behar, a cohost on "The View," asked Farah whether Trump was equally apprehensive about "Peril" by The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. But Farah said Haberman's book is the one Trump is most nervous about given her years of experience covering him at both The Times and at the New York Post.

"She's covered him for decades. I'm very interested to see what else" is coming, Farah added.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Axios reported that the former president sat down for an interview with Haberman as she was writing her book, "Confidence Man," which is scheduled for release in early October. According to Axios, Trump's aides were not pleased with his decision to talk to her — as he's done with other reporters who later published unflattering books about his presidency — but realized he couldn't help himself and they couldn't stop him.

Haberman broke many of the defining stories of the Trump presidency while working as a White House correspondent at The Times. She frequently spoke to him by phone and despite his public attacks on her, Trump is said to have closely followed her coverage of him and his administration.

Before arriving at The Times, Haberman spent 14 years working in New York tabloids and covering City Hall.

"In the context of covering City Hall, you would often end up dealing with Trump," she said in a 2018 interview for a four-part documentary about The Times. "Trump was a quote who you would always try to get because he would always juice up a story."

When Trump entered the 2016 presidential campaign, Haberman said she specifically asked her bosses at The Times whether she could cover him.

After Trump ascended to the Oval Office, Haberman told her colleagues that the president was "fascinated" and "obsessed" with The Times.

"Even though he was born rich, he doesn't see himself that way, and he sees himself as, sort of, this guy who made it big and he plopped himself down into the middle of Fifth Avenue, and he still wasn't treated seriously," she said, adding later: "And now he's in, sort of, the biggest piece of real estate in the country, and he is still not being treated seriously.

"But he is always going to care enormously about what The Times writes, regardless of what Steve Bannon and whomever else is saying," Haberman continued. "And it just plays a different role in his psyche."