Fear: Trump in the White House

In his public remarks: Donald J. Trump, “Remarks on Signing a Memorandum on Addressing China’s Laws, Policies, Practices, and Actions Related to Intellectual Property, Innovation, and Technology and an Exchange with Reporters,” August 14, 2017. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=128022. Note that Trump delivered these remarks on August 14, the same day as his second set of remarks on Charlottesville. His Charlottesville speech was at 12:40 p.m. and his remarks on China were at 3:06 p.m.

Kelly decided he was going to assert: Author review of contemporaneous notes by a participant.

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The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.

In May he said he would be: Ashley Parker and Anne Gearan, “President Trump Says He Would Be ‘Honored’ to Meet with North Korean Dictator,” The Washington Post

, May 1, 2017.

In August he told the press: Donald J. Trump, “Remarks Prior to a Briefing on the Opioid Crisis and an Exchange with Reporters in Bedminster, New Jersey,” August 8, 2017. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=127991.

But the president summed up his position: “Excerpts from Trump’s Interview with the Times,” interview conducted by Michael S. Schmidt, The New York Times, December 28, 2017.

On September 19, 2017, President Trump gave: Donald. J. Trump, “Remarks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City,” September 19, 2017. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=128326.

Kim fired back three days later

: “Full Text of Kim Jong-un’s Response to President Trump,” The New York Times, September 22, 2017.

In a tweet on September 23: View Trump’s tweet at https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/911789314169823232.

For weeks, Tillerson had been: Arit John and Mark Niquette, “Tillerson Vows ‘Peaceful Pressure Campaign’ Against North Korea,” Bloomberg, September 17, 2017.

On October 1, months after Tillerson: View Trump’s tweets at https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/914497877543735296; https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/914497947517227008.

In November, Trump saw Chris Crane: See Crane’s letter summarizing the ICE agents’ complaints at https://jicreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/POTUS-Ltr-11_13_2017.pdf.

The nomination was sent to the Senate: Ashley Parker and Matt Zapotosky, “Trump Taps Kirstjen Nielsen to Lead Department of Homeland Security,” The Washington Post

, October 11, 2017.

The president saw that Fox News: Andrew Restuccia and Eliana Johnson, “Advisers Bad-Mouth Nielsen as a ‘Never Trumper,’ ” Politico, May 11, 2018.

At her confirmation hearing: Ibid.

Kelly appeared on Fox News’s Bret Baier: Sophie Tatum, “Kelly on Immigration: Trump ‘Has Changed the Way He’s Looked at a Number of Things,’ ” CNN, January 17, 2018.

“I talked with the president”: Author review of contemporaneous notes by a participant.

“I’m the only thing protecting the president”: Ibid.

In a small group meeting in his office

: Ibid.

CHAPTER 35

The information in this chapter comes primarily from multiple deep background interviews with firsthand sources.

Cohn knew that was crazy: A leaked copy of Trump’s 2005 tax return showed he had paid $38 million on more than $150 million income for that year—a rate of about 25 percent. View the document at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/14/us/politics/document-Donald-Trump-2005-Tax.html.

As the tax negotiations intensified: Saleha Mohsin, “Mnuchin Crosses the U.S. Trying to Sell the GOP Tax Plan,” Bloomberg, November 16, 2017.

During the 2012 presidential campaign: Molly Moorhead, “Mitt Romney Says 47 Percent of Americans Pay No Income Tax,” PolitiFact, September 18, 2012.

While most of the 44 percent: Roberton C. Williams, “A Closer Look at Those Who Pay No Income or Payroll Taxes,” Tax Policy Center, July 11, 2016.