Trump said in 1999 that he was 'better than any of those assholes who are running' and likes meatloaf, cheeseburgers and Diet Coke
- Republican political consultant Roger Stone has a new book out that charts 'How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution'
- The first set of excerpts suggest that Trump believed he could have won the 2000 election, which was between Al Gore and George W. Bush
- Stone suggested Trump was able to win over voters by talking about big issues and not wonkish details
Roger Stone, the colorful Republican political consultant who has the ear of the new president, has a new book coming out that charts 'How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution.'
The first set of excerpts 'leaked' to Axios' Mike Allen, who writes that Trump's 'quest' for the presidency was, at least, 17 years long.
Stone recalls a scene from Trump Tower in September 1999, when the prominent real estate investor bemoaned the country's choice between Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore.
'The one thing I know is that I'm better than any of those assholes who are running,' Trump said at the time.
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President Donald Trump, photographed arriving in Philadelphia today, is the subject of a forthcoming book written by longtime ally, political consultant Roger Stone
Roger Stone has a new book coming out that charts the rise of President Donald Trump, who Stone has known and advised for decades
Roger Stone, seen in the lobby of Trump Tower in December, said as far back as 1999 Donald Trump was gunning for the White House
Trump had been poring through the morning newspapers and predicted the match would be between Gore and Bush.
'They are both absolutely terrible – just terrible,' Stone said. 'What's going on in this country?'
What happened next was important.
'He looked me squarely in the eyes and, with a hint of a smile, said: "Roger, I want to take the next step. I want to see if Donald Trump can win the White House,"' Stone wrote.
'It this country ready for President Trump?' the businessman mused.
Seventeen years later it was, with Trump being sworn into office last week.
Stone suggested Trump was successful because he 'understood that politics is about big issues, concepts, and themes, and that the voters didn't really care about wonkish detail,' the political consultant wrote. 'If they had, then Newt Gingrich would have been president.'
He also pointed out something that may have made the blue collar billionaire appealing to working people.
'Donald ... has always had an exceptional eye for female beauty,' Stone said. 'He has the same eye for architecture, preferring towering buildings with clean lines, lots of brass, and always large signage.'
'Notwithstanding the glitter and gold of his buildings, there really is nothing fancy or pretentious about Donald Trump. He likes meatloaf, cheeseburgers, and diet coke,' Stone noted.
The book, however, charts some of the bumpier times on the campaign trail, when Trump called Stone for advice.
In May, Roger Stone (right) tweeted a vintage picture of himself at Donald Trump's side as he unofficially advised the presidential candidate after leaving the campaign
Stone had worked for the campaign early on, though broke ties, with Stone saying he left on his own volition and Trump saying he had told the political consultant, who had worked for both Nixon and Reagan, to take a hike.
During the primaries, it was Stone who suggested that Trump call Paul Manafort as the Republican establishment continued to try and fight against nominating the billionaire.
'On the Friday before Easter [2016], Trump called me at my south Florida home. "Can they really steal this thing from me? .. What should I do?"' Stone recalled the conversation going.
'Call my former partner Paul Manafort,' Stone recommended, providing The Donald with Manafort's cell number.
But Manafort, who replaced Trump's initial campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, wasn't at the helm of Trump's campaign for long, resigning in mid-August, amid reports that his firm had orchestrated a pro-Ukrainian lobbying campaign in Washington without properly registering as a foreign lobbyist.
'[I]n the final phase, Trump found Steve Bannon had genius ability to get his messages packed into the powerful mantras the thousands attending rallies planned on chanting, while Kellyanne Conway displayed equal acumen in keeping Trump's temperament level through the long airplane rides,' Stone wrote.
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