Former Aides Say Trump Consoled Himself with Ice Cream After Throwing a Tantrum over Paul Manafort Treating Him Like a 'Baby'
In a new tell-all campaign memoir, two former Trump aides chronicle the businessman’s rocky road to the presidency — ice cream meltdowns and all.
In the book, Let Trump Be Trump, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and another ex-top aide, David Bossie, recall an August 2016 lunch meeting then-GOP nominee Trump had at his Bedminster golf course in New Jersey. Advisers including Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were all on hand to help Trump prepare for an upcoming presidential debate against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
As it was, some of Trump’s aides were unhappy with the progress of the debate prep session, where late Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes reportedly droned on about prepping Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush for debates without saying anything of “substance that might help Trump in September against Hillary,” the authors write.
But when Trump’s then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort stopped by unannounced to check up on Trump, things really took a turn for the worse.
“With Manafort’s arrival, the meeting went from theater of the absurd to a scene out of The Godfather,” the authors recall.
According to Lewandowski and Bossie, Trump exploded at the mere sight of Manafort. “You think I’m a baby, Paul?” Trump reportedly screamed, as Giuliani and Bannon tried, unsuccessfully, to calm him down.
“Am I a baby, Paul? You think you’re so f—ing smart! Like you’re a genius! Well, you suck on TV!” Trump reportedly shouted.
“By the time the boss finished, Manafort looked like a crushed blue beer can,” the authors say. “Even Bannon felt sorry for him.”
Noting Trump’s notorious mood swings, the authors say that once Trump’s “fury was spent,” he stood up and clapped his hands.
“I’m going for ice cream,” he declared.
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Trump’s temper tantrums and love of comfort food are recurring themes in the book.
One of his McDonald’s dinner orders consisted of “two Big Macs, two Fillet-O-Fish, and a chocolate malted” — and amounted to 2,530 calories.
“On Trump Force One there were four major food groups: McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, pizza and Diet Coke,” the authors write.
The cupboards on Trump’s plane were also stocked with Vienna Fingers, potato chips, pretzels and many packages of Oreos because Trump, a well-known germaphobe, refused to eat from a previously opened package.
And the authors note that “the orchestrating and timing of Mr. Trump’s meals was as important as any other aspect of his march to the presidency.”