A former adviser to Donald Trump has released a tape that purports to be a secret recording of a phone call between her and the president, after she was dismissed from her role.
Omarosa Manigault Newman (pictured above) released the tape ahead of the launch of her book, Unhinged, in which she reportedly makes several explosive claims, including Trump’s alleged repeated use of the N-word.
In the recording, Trump appears to be unaware that Manigault Newman, who appeared on Trump’s reality TV show The Apprentice, had been fired.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Omarosa, what's going on? I just saw in the news you're thinking about leaving. What happened?” Trump appears to say on the recording.
“General Kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave,” Manigault Newman replies.
“No. Nobody even told me about it,” Trump says. “You know, they run a big operation but I didn't know it. I didn't know that. Damn it, I don't love you leaving at all.”
However, CNN reports that when asked if she believed Trump knew that she had been fired, Manigault Newman said she did.
“He probably instructed General Kelly to do it so that he could keep his hands clean when he spoke to me,” she said. “I’m wondering, is he sincere? The other question is, is General Kelly running this country or is the president running this country?”
Following the release of the recording, Trump took to Twitter to lash out at Manigault Newman, calling her “Wacky Omarosa” and saying “She never made it, never will” and that she was “vicious, but not smart”.
Manigault Newman had previously released a recording of her dismissal by White House chief of staff John Kelly, in which he is heard to speak of “significant integrity issues” as the reason for her termination, the BBC says.
-
Labor secretary’s husband barred amid assault probeSpeed Read Shawn DeRemer, the husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has been accused of sexual assault
-
Trump touts pledges at 1st Board of Peace meetingSpeed Read At the inaugural meeting, the president announced nine countries have agreed to pledge a combined $7 billion for a Gaza relief package
-
Britain’s ex-Prince Andrew arrested over Epstein tiesSpeed Read The younger brother of King Charles III has not yet been charged
-
Trump touts pledges at 1st Board of Peace meeting
Speed Read At the inaugural meeting, the president announced nine countries have agreed to pledge a combined $7 billion for a Gaza relief package
-
Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
-
‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Should the EU and UK join Trump’s board of peace?Today's Big Question After rushing to praise the initiative European leaders are now alarmed
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Kurt Olsen: Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ lawyer playing a major White House roleIn the Spotlight Olsen reportedly has access to significant US intelligence
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
