Woodward: Fear. Some highlights from Chapter One
Trump, in 2010, considers running against Obama in 2012.
Damn, this is entertaining, but when you get down to it, every anecdote is exactly the same. Unaware of facts in the public record, Trump insists something false is totally true. When confronted with conclusive evidence to the contrary, he spins 180 without missing a beat, as if the earlier conversation had never happened.
No link. Detailed summaries after the jump. Click on “read more.”
Trump talking to political consultants in 2010. He was hoping to make a run at the GOP nomination in 2012:
“You’ve got some problems on issues”
“I don’t have any problems on issues,” Trump said. “What are you talking about?”
“First off, there’s never been a guy win a Republican primary that’s not pro-life. And unfortunately, you’re very pro-choice.”
“What does that mean?”
“You have a record of giving to the abortion guys, the pro-choice candidates. You’ve made statements. You’ve got to be pro-life, against abortion.”
“I’m against abortion. I’m pro-life.”
“Well, you’ve got a track record.”
“That can be fixed. You just tell me how to fix that.”
————–
“The second big thing is your voting record.”
“What do you mean, my voting record?”
“About how often you vote.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, this is a Republican primary.”
“I vote every time,” Trump said confidently. “I’ve voted every time since I was 18, 20 years old.”
“That’s actually not correct. You know there’s a public record of your vote.”
“They don’t know how I vote.”
“No, no, no, not how you vote. How often you vote.”
“I voted every time,” Trump insisted.
“Actually you’ve never voted in a primary except once in your entire life.”
“That’s a fucking lie. That’s a total lie. Every time I get to vote, I voted.”
“You only voted in one primary. It was like in 1988 or something, in the Republican primary.”
“You’re right,” Trump said, pivoting 180 degrees, not missing a beat. “Is that in there?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll get over that.”
————–
“We have another big issue.”
“What’s that?” Trump asked, seeming a little more wary.
“Well, 80 percent of the donations that you’ve given have been to Democrats.”
“That’s bullshit!”
“There’s public records,” Bossie said.
“There’s records of that!” Trump said in utter astonishment.
“Every donation you’ve ever given.”
“I’m always even,” Trump said.
“You actually give quite a bit. But it’s 80 percent Democratic.”
“I’ve got to do that.”