Confidence Man: Key revelations from new e book on Donald Trump

Former US President Donald Trump practically fired his daughter and routinely flushed paperwork down the bathroom.

These explosive particulars and extra are revealed in New York Instances journalist Maggie Haberman’s highly-anticipated e book Confidence Man, which is launched on Tuesday.

The e book follows Mr Trump from his time as a New York businessman to his life after the presidency. It attracts from interviews with greater than 200 sources, together with former aides in addition to three interviews with Mr Trump himself.

The previous president has attacked Haberman, writing on his social media platform that the e book incorporates “many made up tales with zero reality checking”.

Listed below are eight of Confidence Man’s largest revelations:

At a gathering with then Chief of Employees John Kelly after which White Home counsel Don McGahn, Haberman writes that Mr Trump was near tweeting that his daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law Jared Kushner – each senior White Home aides – had been leaving their positions.

He was stopped by Mr Kelly, who suggested him to talk with Ivanka and Mr Kushner first earlier than sending the tweet. Mr Trump by no means spoke with them, they usually each remained White Home aides till the top of his presidency.

The e book additionally reveals that Mr Trump continuously talked down on his son-in-law, and as soon as commented that Mr Kushner “appears like a baby” after listening to a public speech he gave in 2017.

Mr Trump has denied ever wanting to fireplace Ivanka and her husband. “Pure fiction. By no means even crossed my thoughts,” he stated.

Haberman writes that Mr Trump raised the prospect of bombing Mexican drug labs a number of occasions – a suggestion that surprised former US Defence Secretary Mark Esper.

The concept stemmed from a dialog that Mr Trump had with Brett Giroir, a public well being officer and an admiral with the US Public Well being Service Commissioned Corps.

Mr Giroir walked into the Oval Workplace sporting a costume uniform – as is customary for public well being officers within the corps – and stated to Mr Trump that services producing unlawful medicine in Mexico must be dealt with by placing “a result in goal” to cease illicit substances from coming over the border.

Mistaking Mr Giroir for a army officer, Mr Trump then urged bombing the drug services. In response, the White Home requested Mr Giroir to cease sporting his uniform.

When Mr Trump fell sick with Covid-19 in October 2020, his situation on the White Home was worsening and he was petrified of dying.

At one level, his deputy chief of employees, Tony Ornato, warned the president that if his well being deteriorated additional he must set in movement procedures to make sure the continuity of presidency.

This concern existed regardless of a number of makes an attempt by Mr Trump to reduce the pandemic, as he nervous the virus was negatively impacting his picture and political motivations. Haberman writes that he requested aides round him to take off their masks, and that he suggested then New York governor Andrew Cuomo to not speak in regards to the virus on TV.

“Do not make such a giant deal out of this,” Mr Trump stated to Mr Cuomo, in response to the e book. “You are going to make it an issue.”

Haberman’s e book particulars a number of encounters between Mr Trump and world leaders.

For example, in his first assembly with then UK Prime Minister Theresa Might, Mr Trump spoke about abortion, saying “some persons are pro-life, some persons are pro-choice. Think about if some animals with tattoos raped your daughter and she or he received pregnant?”

He then modified the topic in a dialog on Northern Eire to debate find out how to block an offshore wind mission from being arrange close to his property.

When it turned obvious that Mr Trump was dropping the 2020 election to US President Joe Biden, he referred to as former New York Metropolis mayor and his private legal professional Rudy Giuliani.

“Okay, Rudy, you are in cost. Go wild, do something you need. I do not care,” Mr Trump stated, after different attorneys refused to go so far as he has requested in his bid to overturn the election outcomes.

“My attorneys are horrible,” he stated to Mr Giuliani, in response to the e book. He additionally continuously berated White Home counsel Pat Cipollone.

The e book reveals that on the time, Mr Trump was enamoured with conspiracy theories and sought out attorneys that his personal advisers felt had been deluded.

On a airplane whereas campaigning in 2016, Mr Trump was requested by his marketing campaign supervisor Corey Lewandowski and his press secretary Hope Hicks to handle his refusal to launch his tax returns – a difficulty they noticed as an issue for Mr Trump’s White Home bid.

Haberman writes that Mr Trump responded by leaning again earlier than snapping to a sudden thought: “Properly, you understand my taxes are below audit, I all the time get audited,” he stated.

“So what I imply is, nicely I may simply say, ‘I will launch them once I’m not below audit. ‘Trigger I will by no means not be below audit.”

Since Richard Nixon, each US president has voluntarily launched their tax returns. A 2020 New York Instances investigation has since revealed that Mr Trump paid $750 (£662) in federal revenue taxes the yr he turned president.

When Mr Trump was in workplace, White Home employees periodically found that the bathroom was clogged with printed paper and believed he had flushed paperwork.

He additionally allegedly tore up paperwork, which contravenes the Presidential Data Act – a regulation that claims paperwork created or acquired by a president are the property of the US authorities and are to be dealt with by the US Nationwide Archives as soon as the presidency ends.

The main points are revealed amid wider allegations of lacking paperwork from Mr Trump’s White Home levelled by the Nationwide Archives. Mr Trump additionally faces a felony investigation by the Division of Justice for preserving authorities information at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida after leaving workplace.

At a congressional assembly shortly after his 2017 inauguration, Haberman writes that Mr Trump turned to a racially numerous group of Democratic staffers and requested them to fetch canapes, mistaking them for waiters.

The e book particulars that Mr Trump made the remarks to staffers for Senator Chuck Schumer and Consultant Nancy Pelosi.

Haberman additionally paperwork a historical past of homophobic remarks allegedly uttered by Mr Trump.