Maggie Haberman’s New Book Reports Trump Had Desperate Plan to Stay in White House: ‘I’m Just Not Going to Leave’
Former President Donald Trump told aides of a desperate plan to remain in the White House after he lost the 2020 election, according to new excerpt from Maggie Haberman’s upcoming book.
CNN obtained a preview of Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, which delves into Trump’s refusal to accept his election defeat, plus his numerous efforts to overturn the results. One part describes how White House aides were left confused by what Trump would do next as he promised that he wouldn’t vacate the president’s mansion.
“I’m just not going to leave,” Trump told one aide, according to Haberman. The New York Times reporter wrote that Trump told another staffer, “We’re never leaving. How can you leave when you won an election?”
Haberman’s book goes on to say that Trump seemed to contradict himself at one point while he was insisting that he wouldn’t leave the White House. She wrote that in the immediate aftermath of the election, Trump seemed to recognize he had lost to Joe Biden, and he was seemingly embarrassed by the outcome as he asked where he went wrong.
From CNN:
He comforted one adviser, saying, “We did our best.” Trump told junior press aides, “I thought we had it,” seemingly almost embarrassed by the outcome, according to Haberman.
But at some point, Trump’s mood changed, Haberman writes, and he abruptly informed aides he had no intention of departing the White House in late January 2021 for Biden to move in.
He was even overheard asking the chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, “Why should I leave if they stole it from me?”
Haberman’s book — to be released in early October — has been drawing media intrigue for months ever since previews described Trump’s reported tendency to rip up White House documents and flush them down the toilet. The book is described as a broad recollection of Trump’s various relationships, his rise to political prominence, and his norm-shattering behavior as president.
Watch above via CNN.
