Obama snub that followed Trump to the White House
DONALD TRUMP faced a barrage of “undiplomatic” behaviour from outgoing President Barack Obama as he prepared to enter the White House, a new book claims.
Obama is alleged to have refused to authorise the traditional stay at a presidential guesthouse and offer of tea before the inauguration among his “subtle snubs”.
The book also lifts the lid on President Trump’s relationship with wife Melania, describing her as his rock and adviser who is fiercely protective of him.
In the tell-all tome Trump’s former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates talks to author Daphne Barak about his time with the tycoon.
Gates admitted making false statements in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US elections. He uses the book to claim he pleaded guilty for the sake of his family.
He also accuses Obama of shabby behaviour towards Trump during the handover of office in 2017.
On one occasion, he claims, the traditional stay at one of the presidential guesthouses was blocked until the day before Trump’s inauguration.
Obama, still president, was said to have refused to agreed to it.
Gates says in the book: “To our surprise, he authorised it only at the actual moment when Donald and Melania checked in.
“That meant that until Thursday, the day before the inauguration, the kids were not formally invited at [guesthouse] Blair House.
“It was hard not to see this as a subtle snub.” And the diplomatic slights didn’t end there, he claims.
Convention also dictates that the outgoing president offers tea to his successor and his family on the morning of the inauguration. However, the customary invitation did not arrive, Gates claims.
He said: “It created a very difficult situation because we could not really call and ask for it. It had to come from President Obama.
“But we needed to plan every minute in the schedule, so we made delicate enquiries and were told that Michelle Obama was not sure if she would issue such an invitation.
“We told President-elect Trump and Melania about the sensitive situation, and they were initially disappointed, but they encouraged us not to initiate anything, just to wait.”
The invite apparently came at the last minute, and Melania decided to offer her counterpart Michelle Obama a gift.
Footage later showed Michelle unclear about what to do with the present. Gates tells the author: “We checked and found that it was not part of the tradition, but it had been done a few times in the past.
“Melania gave her gift out of kindness, and it was later reported that Michelle could have treated this gesture better.”
The book also reveals much about the relationship between Trump and his third wife.
Gates said: “Melania Trump is impressive by any measure. She’s classy, warm and polite.
“I was taken by her from the first time I met her, and in my proximity to the Trumps, I would learn the truth of their relationship.
“Contrary to the picture the media has painted, she is Donald’s rock. As a couple, they are united and fiercely protective of each other.”
Melania even played an important role in choosing Trump’s running mate Mike Pence the book suggests.
The candidates also included House Speaker New Gringrich.while pondering over which to choose, Trump is said to have turned to his wife and said: “Melania, what’s your opinion, baby?”
Gates tells the author: “I understood how much he relied on Melania’s judgment. She didn’t know politics, but she cared about her husband.”
‘Melania is his rock. They are protective of each other’
● To Plea Or Not To Plea: The
Story Of Rick Gates And The Mueller Investigation, by Daphne Barak, is published by Center Street on Tuesday.