Inside Trump’s White House
Donald Trump’s chaotic White House has been laid bare in an explosive new book in which insiders dish the dirt on the US president
WHAT’S life really like in the White House these days? For months rumours have been doing the rounds of backstabbing, infighting and allout chaos – all of which President Donald Trump has dismissed as “fake news”. And he was right. Turns out the reality is far crazier.
Who’d ever have guessed the president is so self-obsessed he has three television screens in his bedroom so he can monitor what all the major news networks are saying about him? Or that he’s so terrified of germs he won’t let White House staff touch any of his personal possessions?
These are just a few of the revelations in a sensational new book, Fire and Fury, which shines a spotlight on the dysfunctional goings-on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Of course, this isn’t the first book about President Trump but what makes it different is that it was written by respected American journalist Michael Wolff and draws on hundreds of hours of interviews with White House insiders.
And boy, do they have a story to tell. As Trump’s former press secretary Sean Spicer puts it, “You couldn’t make this s**t up.” Annoyed at how badly treated they were by Trump, several of his senior staff couldn’t wait to spill the beans.
HE NEVER WANTED TO BE PRESIDENT!
The reason Trump threw his hat into the ring was because he wanted to promote his brand, Wolff claims. There’s speculation that’s why the billionaire never sank any of his own money into his campaign – because he didn’t actually want to win.
His eldest son, Donald Jnr (40), reportedly revealed to a friend that when election results showed he was on track to win, Trump (71) looked like he’d “seen a ghost”. Meanwhile his wife, Melania (47), was in tears – she’d also believed her husband didn’t stand a chance of winning and was left reeling as it dawned on her how her life was about to change.
MELANIA’S INAUGURATION DAY MISERY
Wolff reveals that throughout the morning Trump was seen fighting with his wife and that several times she seemed on the verge of tears. “Almost every word he addressed to her was sharp and peremptory,” he writes.
Apparently Trump was annoyed that a concert at the Lincoln Memorial the night before had lacked star power. From there on it just went from bad to worse.
At the ceremonial meeting with the Obamas that preceded his swearing-in, he was in a huff because he believed the outgoing president and his wife were “very arrogant” towards him and Melania. That’s why he looked so angry when he delivered his inaugural address.
The first couple reportedly have separate bedrooms in the White House and can go days at a time without speaking. Now onto his third marriage, Trump claims to have discovered the secret to a successful relationship: “Do your own thing.” When with friends he loves nothing better than to brag about Melania’s model looks and without the slightest hint of irony refers to her as his “trophy wife”.
TRUMP HATES THE WHITE HOUSE
In phone calls to friends he’s referred to the mansion as a “dump”, complaining
Sources claim Trump isn’t only ‘crazy’ but also ‘stupid’ and totally out of his depth
he misses his luxurious New York apartment in Trump Tower where he’s lived since the early ’80s. During his first days at the White House he ordered two more televisions for his bedroom – in addition to the one that was already there – so he can monitor multiple news networks to see what everyone is saying about him.
He also insisted on a lock being put on the door, which led to a brief standoff with his minders from the Secret Service. Because of a longtime fear of germs he’s ordered that nobody touch any of his personal belongings, especially his toothbrush.
Insiders reveal that when he doesn’t have any commitments he’s usually in bed by 6.30pm with a McDonald’s cheeseburger, watching his three TV screens.
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
After he won the presidential race Trump handed over the reins of his business empire to his sons, Donald Jnr (40) and Eric (34), from his first marriage to Ivana Trump. How much freedom they really have to call the shots is open to debate. Wolff describes them as being in an “enforced infantile relationship” with their father and reveals that workers at the Trump Organisation jokingly refer to them as Uday and Qusay – a reference to the monstrous offspring of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Trump reportedly often jokes that they were standing at the back of the queue when God handed out brains. As far as he’s concerned his eldest daughter, Ivanka (36), is the bright one. Which probably explains why both she and her husband, Jared Kushner (37), are now installed in the White House, serving Trump in advisory roles.
Critics have taken to referring to the power couple as “Jarvanka”. As the president’s daughter, Ivanka can do pretty much as she pleases while Jared has been described as a “supercilious and obsequious” smooth operator.
Although they have what staff describe as “superstar status in the West Wing” it seems the ambitious pair view it as a stepping stone to even greater things.
There’s talk that when her dad has served his time Ivanka intends throwing her hat into the ring with the aim of being America’s first woman president.
CHAOS MAGNET
While Trump’s staff went in with a positive attitude believing they could help him steer the ship, they soon realised it was an impossible task. One insider describes Trump as being like a “recalcitrant twoyear-old”.
This is a man who thinks nothing of getting up and walking out in the middle of meetings with world leaders because he’s “bored”.
Wolff paints an unflattering picture of the president, with sources claiming Trump isn’t only “crazy” but also “stupid” and totally out of his depth.
Of course the White House has been quick to dismiss the explosive book as “trashy tabloid fiction” full of “false and misleading accounts”.
Trump has also come out firing, trying to convince everyone that America is in good hands.
“Throughout my life my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being like, really smart,” he tweeted. “I went from very successful businessman to top TV star to president of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius . . . and a very stable genius at that!”
THE RUSSIAN CONNECTION
The story goes that it was Donald Jnr who opened up this can of worms which some reckon may eventually lead to the president’s impeachment. In his book Wolff spills the beans about what he dubs “the most preposterous meeting in modern politics”.
It took place in a boardroom at Trump Tower in June 2016. In attendance were Donald Jnr, Trump’s then campaign manager Paul Manafort, Kushner and officials from Russia who claimed to have damaging information about Trump’s political rival, Hillary Clinton.
It was this meeting that was later to fuel allegations that the Trump team colluded with the Russians to affect the outcome of the election.
Since departing the White House Trump’s former senior adviser, Steve Bannon, hasn’t minced his words about the meeting, branding it “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”.
He maintains Donald Jnr would have been so keen to curry favour with his father that he’d have wasted no time in filling him in.
“The chance that Don Jnr didn’t walk these jamokes (clumsy losers) up to his father’s office on the 26th floor is zero.”
You can bet that Robert Mueller, the former FBI director tasked with investigating Trump’s Russian ties, is pricking up his ears at all this juicy info.
ARE TRUMP’S DAYS NUMBERED?
Bannon certainly thinks they are. He’s reportedly been telling people he believes there’s a 33,3% chance the Russian investigation will lead to the president’s impeachment, a 33,3% chance that he may choose to resign to save face and a 33,3% chance he’ll remain in office.
But Bannon firmly believes that even if he does manage to stay in the White House for the duration of his first term, Trump will make no attempt to seek re-election.