Latest news with #'sReturntoPower
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New book dishes on Trump's DeSantis obsession: 'Why doesn't he just wait until 2028?'
A new book details the extent of Donald Trump's obsession with the destruction of Ron DeSantis' political career during the 2024 presidential campaign and the ruthless tactics his team employed to try and make it impossible for the governor to run for anything ever again. In 'Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power,' reporter Alex Isenstadt writes that in the run-up to DeSantis' presidential campaign launch in 2023, Trump was incredulous that he was actually going through with it. 'Is Ron really that stupid to run against me? Why doesn't he just wait until 2028?,' Trump mused, according to the book, which went on sale Tuesday. The former and future president later told aides that he would have endorsed DeSantis as his successor if the governor had waited another four years to run for the White House, Isenstadt reveals. 'Now nobody wants him,' Trump said. 'He's done.' DeSantis' hapless showing against Trump forced him from the 2024 race early after being drubbed in the Iowa caucuses. Vice President JD Vance is now seen as Trump's heir apparent, leading most hypothetical 2028 GOP presidential primary polls, with DeSantis lagging behind by more than 30 points according to one recent survey. Spokespeople for Trump and DeSantis did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In the campaign's West Palm Beach headquarters, Trump's top political lieutenants hatched a plan with one purpose: To make DeSantis look weird. Isenstadt writes that Trump aides exchanged tales portraying the governor in an unflattering light, trading stories about DeSantis allegedly shoving chicken fingers in his jacket pocket or clipping his toenails in the back of his security vehicle. There was also the story of how DeSantis supposedly drove a golf cart behind his wife, Casey, as she ran around the neighborhood so she would lose weight, and the bit about DeSantis allegedly stockpiling dirty underwear in his gym locker while serving in Congress. For Trump's camp, the veracity of the stories mattered less than the narrative they built around their opponent. The thinly-sourced anecdotes ended up in news stories or in posts on the accounts of MAGA-friendly social media. The crescendo came when Trump's super PAC decided to go up with a television advertisement seizing on DeSantis' eating habits, using a story that during a 2019 flight, DeSantis had downed pudding with his bare hands. The super PAC spent only $100,000 to air it for a single day, Isenstadt reports, but super PAC consultant Taylor Budowich knew he didn't need to put more money behind it, because it would go viral on its own. Florida native Susie Wiles, the former DeSantis aide who went on to lead Trump's campaign, also featured prominently in finding ways to chop DeSantis down. 'When DeSantis was a congressman, he was distant and made no effort to establish relationships with them. When he became governor, things didn't get much better. Now, the Trump advisers realized, if they could get the Florida [congressional] members to endorse the boss, it would be an embarrassment for the home state governor. Wiles loved the idea,' Isenstadt writes. Rep. Greg Steube got onboard and publicly relayed a story about how after suffering a fall earlier in the year, Trump called to wish him well but DeSantis didn't. In the end nearly a dozen Florida congressional members got on board with Trump, whereas DeSantis was left with a single one. When Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth came under fire in early December, Trump considered replacing him with his old nemesis, DeSantis. That didn't sit well with Wiles, the incoming chief of staff who was discarded by DeSantis following his 2018 gubernatorial victory. 'Revenge' reports that Wiles let Trump know she disapproved of the swap but told him she'd get on board if DeSantis was who he wanted. Trump stuck with Hegseth, who narrowly won Senate approval. It's another intentional feature of the second Trump administration: a unspoken ban on 2024 DeSantis staffers. During the campaign, Isenstadt writes that Trump's aides had begun collecting names and taking screenshots of social media accounts of DeSantis staffers who were impugning Trump. 'If Trump took up residence in the White House, they would be blacklisted from getting a job in the administration,' reports Isenstadt.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anna Paulina Luna responds to ‘gross' headline claiming Trump offered his bed, asked to keep it secret from Melania
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna is firing back at 'gross' claims in a new book alleging that President Donald Trump offered her his bed and to keep it a secret from his wife Melania. A 'Daily Beast' article published on March 17 claimed that a bombshell book, 'Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power,' reveals a 2023 incident when Trump offered 'the MAGA newcomer' his bed when she was experiencing illness from her pregnancy. Trump, Putin hold nearly 3-hour call amid ceasefire push in Ukraine 'If you need a bed to lay down in, there's one here on the plane. If you feel sick and you need to lay there, you can lay on it,' the Daily Beast quoted Trump. 'Just don't tell Melania. She doesn't like other women on my bed.' Luna fired back on X, formerly known as Twitter, later that afternoon, writing: I seldom respond to nasty headlines because I don't like giving trash credibility, however, being that there is allegedly a book coming out with me named and attacking @POTUS, his marriage, our first lady, and frankly implying something distasteful about me, I am responding. I was very pregnant and at the time experiencing pre-eclampsia symptoms, but was not diagnosed. As soon as @realDonaldTrump boarded the plane, being the gentleman and good person that he is, said if I did not feel well, I could use the back room. He did this in a respectful way and in front of my husband, of which we thanked him. He also assured me that they had a medical team on board in case anything happened and they were aware of how pregnant I was. This was the most compassionate thing that could've been done at the time. I find it disgusting that the author fails to recognize that. A few weeks later, I was induced because I did have pre-eclampsia . The author of this book never reached out to me for comment. Which means that this book is likely going to be a s*** hit piece. If people in POTUS orbit are talking to this author, they need to be cut off immediately. This is gross. Comments under the representative's post urged her to file a lawsuit, suing the publication for defamation. Many users backed her up, calling out the outlet for spinning the story and lying. The book is written by Alex Isenstadt, a White House reporter for Axios. The news outlet refers to the content of the book as 'never-before-reported moments' about Trump, labeling him as a flattering, gossipy, and blunt man both in public and behind closed doors. The 'fly-on-the-wall' approach will take readers inside the president's Mar-a-Lago estate, his courtroom appearances, and behind the scenes of his 2024 presidential campaign and rise to power. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna rips Daily Beast's 'nasty' headline taking reported exchange with Trump out of context
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., took aim at The Daily Beast's "nasty" headline on Monday that took an exchange she had with President Donald Trump out of context. Alex Isenstadt, Axios reporter and author of "Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power," made headlines with quotes allegedly said by Trump in a sneak preview published by Axios on Sunday. Among the quotes was one he allegedly said to Luna in 2023 offering her the bed on his jet when she was pregnant and feeling ill, though it included a joke about his wife Melania being jealous. "If you need a bed to lay down in, there's one here on the plane. If you feel sick and you need to lay there, you can lay on it. Just don't tell Melania. She doesn't like other women on my bed," Trump said to Luna, according to Isenstadt, who noted in the Axios sneak preview that Trump was joking. However, The Daily Beast ran the headline "'Don't Tell Melania': Trump Once Offered Rising MAGA Star His Bed," teasing to readers, "The alleged comments cast new light on the president's eyebrow-raising marriage to Melania Trump." The report acknowledged Luna was "unwell" in the first paragraph but didn't mention the joking nature of Trump's comment until the fourth. The Daily Beast shared its story on X further implying an inappropriate relationship between Trump and Luna, writing, "The new revelations reveal how Trump reportedly offered a female congresswoman his bed, as long as she kept it a secret from his wife." Luna did not take kindly to The Daily Beast's reporting. "I seldom respond to nasty headlines because I don't like giving trash credibility, however, being that there is allegedly a book coming out with me named and attacking @POTUS, his marriage, our first lady, and frankly implying something distasteful about me, I am responding," Luna wrote on X. "I was very pregnant and at the time experiencing pre-eclampsia symptoms, but was not diagnosed," she explained. "As soon as @realDonaldTrump boarded the plane, being the gentleman and good person that he is, said if I did not feel well, I could use the back room. He did this in a respectful way and in front of my husband, of which we thanked him. He also assured me that they had a medical team on board in case anything happened and they were aware of how pregnant I was." "This was the most compassionate thing that could've been done at the time. I find it disgusting that the author fails to recognize that," Luna continued. "A few weeks later, I was induced because I did have pre-eclampsia . The author of this book never reached out to me for comment. Which means that this book is likely going to be a s--- hit piece. If people in POTUS orbit are talking to this author, they need to be cut off immediately. This is gross." The Daily Beast was later hit by Community Notes, which read "The woman in question was Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who has responded publicly to the allegation. She claims nothing inappropriate occurred, she was not asked for comment, and this situation is being presented out of context." The Daily Beast did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. A spokesperson for Axios told Fox News Digital, "In our report, Axios correctly portrayed and contextualized comments made by President Trump during an interaction that he had with Rep. Luna, an interaction she confirmed in her statement did in fact happen." In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House communications director Steven Cheung denounced Trump books including Isenstadt's as a "desperate attempt to make money off of President Trump's name because journalism is a dying industry with reporters peddling lies and selling their souls in order to make a quick buck," adding, "These works of fiction either belong in the bargain bin of the fantasy section in a discount bookstore or should be repurposed as tissue paper."
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Don't Tell Melania': Trump Once Offered Rising MAGA Star His Bed
Donald Trump once offered a MAGA newcomer his bed while she was feeling unwell, but told her to keep it a secret from Melania, according to a new bombshell book. The president made the offer aboard his personal jet in 2023, when Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, 35, was pregnant. 'If you need a bed to lay down in, there's one here on the plane. If you feel sick and you need to lay there, you can lay on it,' Trump reportedly told Luna. 'Just don't tell Melania. She doesn't like other women on my bed,' he joked. The comments, revealed in Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt's new book Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power, cast new light on the president's eyebrow-raising marriage to Melania Trump. 'She f---ing hates him,' a source close to Trump and his family told Michael Wolff, who last month published another book to delve into Trump's second campaign, All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America. Melania was rarely seen by Trump's side on the campaign trail last year. The first lady has reportedly limited her stays at the White House since Trump's return to power, splitting her time between D.C. and Florida. 'She leads her own life and joins [the president] when appropriate in either place,' a source told People last month. Isenstadt's book divulges other candid moments from the president's campaign trail, such as sarcastic comments about going after his political opponents. 'Listen, everybody. There will be no retribution, there will be no revenge. Wink, wink,' he reportedly told aides in March 2024. He also raged against E. Jean Carroll and Stormy Daniels to an aide in April 2024, reportedly ranting, 'E. Jean Carroll says I f---ed her. Stormy Daniels says I f---ed her. But I never f---ed them. Everyone's f---ing everybody, but I never f---ed any of these people.' But his Republicans colleagues weren't off the hook either. When Ron DeSantis prepared to run against him in the 2023 Republican primary, Trump reportedly told then-Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, 'I'm going to squash this guy like a bug.' He also insulted Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) for lacking charisma and made fun of casino mogul Steve Wynn's incurable eye disease, according to Isenstadt. 'Many of these so-called insider books are a desperate attempt to make money off of President Trump's name because journalism is a dying industry with reporters peddling lies and selling their souls in order to make a quick buck,' White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement to the Daily Beast. 'These works of fiction either belong in the bargain bin of the fantasy section in a discount bookstore or should be repurposed as tissue paper.'
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘For the love of God': Sean Hannity begged Trump to stop attacking Fox News amid Dominion lawsuit, new book says
Sean Hannity begged Donald Trump to stop attacking Fox News in a phone call just weeks before it settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023, according to a new book. In early 2023, Trump decried 'collusion' between 'MAGA hating' Fox News and his then-chief political rival Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a run of ruthless attacks against the network and its chairman Rupert Murdoch. Ahead of the March 18 release of Alex Isenstadt's book, Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power, the Axios journalist explains how Hannity, the network's premier host and close Trump confidant, called on the Republican to end his tirade against the conservative network in March 2023. 'Please do not hit Fox, do not hit the Murdoch family. Just please, for the love of God, please don't do it,' Hannity said, according to an excerpt of Isenstadt's book obtained by the Washington Post. 'Mr. President, I'm trying to help you out here with the Fox people here. But you're not making it easy for me by going after the Murdochs. You're not helping me. You're not helping yourself. If you can just lay off, we can start making some moves and getting back to normal.' Holding up his phone so his staffers could hear, Trump reportedly replied: 'Sean is trying to do the right thing. But, man, the Murdochs? I don't know.' 'Susie, are you in the room?,' Hannity asked, referring to Susie Wiles, Trump's then-campaign manager. 'Susie, can you talk to the president? For the love of God, can you talk to the president?' According to a Fox News spokesperson, Wiles responded: 'Well, Sean, President Trump is going to do what President Trump thinks is best and fair.' Hannity said that he could not recall speaking to Wiles during the conversation. Trump then called Hannity a 'good man' and put down the phone, per the excerpt. Despite taking several jabs at Fox News on the 2024 presidential campaign trail over its polling and announcement of an interview with his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, the president has rarely clashed with the Murdoch-owned network since entering politics. However, in the spring of 2023, a simmering feud between Trump and Fox News reached a boiling point. Trump capitalized on revelations in the defamation lawsuit filed against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems, which sued the network for $1.6 billion over claims made during its coverage of the 2020 election. In April 2023, Fox struck a $787.5 million deal with the voting machine company. There were media reports throughout the early 2024-election cycle that Fox News bosses were seeking to ditch Trump. In late 2022, multiple Fox News pundits began throwing their support behind DeSantis after his landslide reelection victory at the 2022 mid-terms – a largely disappointing election for the Republicans, with many of Trump's hand-picked candidates struggling to win key races. 'Trump is the past,' said Fox Business host Stuart Varney on November 10, 2022, while Fox News Digital headlines called Trump the 'biggest loser' and hailed DeSantis as 'the new Republican Party leader.' In late February, DeSantis' book The Courage to Be Free was heavily promoted and saw the governor make at least five live appearances on the network, according to a tally at the time by Media Matters for America. Meanwhile, in the same period, Trump had a roughly six-month hiatus from appearing on the network in what his campaign referred to at the time as a 'soft ban.' Murdoch also acknowledged that his network hosts had 'endorsed' some of Trump's baseless claims about the 2020 election being stolen by Joe Biden. 'Why is Rupert Murdoch throwing his anchors under the table, which also happens to be killing his case and infuriating his viewers, who will again be leaving in droves — they already are,' Trump posted on Truth Social on February 28, 2023. Trump told the media magnate that if he did not believe the 2020 election was 'rigged' he should 'get out of the News Business as soon as possible, because they are aiding & abetting the DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA with FAKE NEWS.' Murdoch's resignation as the chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp in September 2023 provided Trump and the network a refresh. 'Rupert Murdoch is in a class by himself, he's an amazing guy,' Trump said of the conservative in the Oval Office last month.
