Trump hasn’t been president for a while, but a lot of the inside stories from that time are too juicy not to tell, especially the ones from the perspectives of the reporters who covered him.
Reporter Jon Karl, ABC’s News chief Washington correspondent and author of the new book Betrayal, has quite a few tales from both Mar-a-Lago and the White House, but one stands out to The New Abnormal host Molly Jong-Fast: the time Trump practically begged for an invite to the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Traditionally, presidents have been invited to the event by a member of the press, except for Trump. So when Karl was invited to chat about the night with 45 one day, he knew what was coming.
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“Trump comes in and he’s clear, he wants me to beg him to come and I’m not gonna do that. He keeps suggesting that he is very open to coming and all I say is, ‘Look, if you decide to come, you know, that’s fine. We’ll welcome you. If you decide not to come, we will respect that decision.”
Karl says Trump then compares him to his son, who he thought at first was Don Jr. but it was actually Barron. Other stories include how Karl heard one of Paul Gosar’s GOP colleagues say he’s “not all there” and the time Karl says Trump asked Michigan state politicians to throw out Biden votes.
As someone who got to know Trump well during his presidency, Karl isn’t convinced he will run again in 2024. But there is one thing he’s almost sure of… which he shares in the episode.
Then! Danielle Moodie, host of podcasts WokeAF and Democracyish, does not hold back when asked about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict.
“Because of this verdict, you will see more and more people, more and more white rage-filled men, deciding that they are going to be their own liberators, deciding that they’re going to be cowboy justice in this country, where they’re going to be their own race mob, and take matters into their own hands. And that should scare the hell out of everybody.”
Plus! Daily Beast politics editor Matt Fuller breaks down what’s in the recently passed Build Back Better Act and what’ll likely get slashed in the Senate. Good news for people who take insulin and not-so-good news for climate change: “The environment is very much at the will of Joe Manchin.”
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