Berkrot Peter - Let Trump be Trump: the inside story of his rise to the presidency

Copyright 2017 by Corey R. Lewandowski and David N. Bossie

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First Edition: December 2017

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ISBNs: 978-1-5460-8330-6 (hardcover), 978-1-5460-8329-0 (ebook)

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TO PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP AND FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP AND THE ENTIRE TRUMP FAMILY FOR MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

COREY R. LEWANDOWSKI

To my wife, Alison, and our kids, Abigail, Alex, Owen, and Reagan. I could not have embarked on this amazing journey without your help and support. Because of your resolve we have helped to change the world. Thank you for everything!

And to Mom, you never let me quit anything. I owe you so much. I love you all!

DAVID N. BOSSIE

To my wonderful wife, Susan, and our beautiful children, Isabella, Griffin, Lily, and Maggie.Your love and laughter continue to inspire me on our incredible journey together.

And to my parents, Norm and Marie. Thank you for instilling in me a strong work ethic and a love of country. I love you all very much.

Donald Trumps chances of winning are approaching zero.

W ASHINGTON P OST, O CTOBER 24, 2016

Donald Trump Stands a Real Chance of Being the Biggest Loser in Modern Elections

H UFFINGTON P OST, O CTOBER 27, 2016

Our final map has Clinton winning with 352 electoral votes.

L OS A NGELES T IMES, N OVEMBER 6, 2016

DONALD J. TRUMP couldnt have struck a more perfect tone in acknowledging his victory on election night. Its hard to imagine what one might say in accepting a job at which so many were counting on you to succeed and so many others never wanted you to have in the first place. Wed like to think Americans of all political beliefs felt a little bit of optimism for our great country after President-elect Trump made his acceptance speech. In part because of the media coverage, it was one of the most bitter, contentious presidential elections in recent memory.

Yes, Donald Trump had said things typical politicians would never have said, but what needed to be said about the Washington establishments failure to stand up for the people they were elected to represent. He certainly hadnt minced any words about his opponent, Hillary Clinton, just as she hadnt about him. But that night, at that moment, it was important to the country to see Mr. Trump the same way we had seen him for the last two years: gracious, respectful, and speaking to and for all Americans, Republican, Democrat, and Independentthe Americas who have been forgotten for too long. President-elect Trump was gracious in thanking Hillary Clinton for her service to our country and asking Republicans and Democrats for their help and guidance.

Anyone who knows Donald Trump the way we do knows he was sincere during those few moments onstage, and even his critics praised his acceptance speech. Even the self-deprecating part about the few people who didnt support him was pure Trump. But more than anything else, he was at that moment humbled by the honor that had been bestowed on him by a country he truly loves, confident in his abilities and the miracles possible when the free men and women of this great land work together to achieve greatness.

That was the Donald Trump America saw in the first hours of November 9, 2016, after Hillary Clinton had conceded the election. The twenty-four hours leading up to that moment were another story altogether.

A t around one oclock in the afternoon on Election Day, Dave Bossie left the campaigns war room in Trump Tower and made the five-minute walk to 30 Rock to do an interview with Hallie Jackson on MSNBC. Jackson had asked him where he was most concerned. Its not a concern, he said. We just have our path to 270. Over and over he had told interviewers that week that Trumps gateway to the presidency ran through North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, and Florida. On Jacksons show he sounded knowledgeable, confident.

But on his way back to Trump Tower he was just trying to keep straight the thoughts that flared in his mind. He had been talking to the campaigns state directors all day, people like Mike Rubino in Virginia, Scott Hagerstrom in Michigan, Eric Branstad in Iowa, Bob Paduchik in Ohio, Susie Wiles in Florida, and David Urban in Pennsylvania. All key battleground states. All giving him anecdotal reports like, Its raining in Cleveland or, The turnout is low in these precincts or, They have machine problems in Philly (no surprise there).

In one moment he was sure Trump would win. In the next, he thought we didnt have a chance.

By late afternoon, it looked like the latter. In the war room, on the fourteenth floor of Trump Tower, a space that had once housed the set for The Apprentice, it was all hands on deck. Ivanka, Don Jr., Don Jr.s wife, Vanessa, Eric, and Erics wife, Lara, were working the phones. Our communications team, led by Hope Hicks, Jason Miller, Jessica Ditto, and Boris Epshteyn was heroic. People such as Bryan Lanza, Kaelan Dorr, Clay Shoemaker, Chris Byrne, Steven Chung, Andy Surabian, Cliff Sims, and others, some of whom had been with the campaign since the beginning, were calling top-five radio shows in key markets such as North Carolina, Florida, and Ohio. During the campaign, the Trump children did scores and scores of interviews, and on Election Day they did one right after the other.

Go out and vote for my father, they said.

Hurry, before the polls close!

The truth was, some on the campaign were already jumping ship. The Friday before the election, Sean Spicer, then the chief strategist for the Republican National Committee and a campaign adviser, called a meeting at RNC headquarters in which his team gave tier-one network reporters its predicted totals for the Electoral College vote. The information was strictly on background and under embargo. In that meeting, the Republican data team said that Donald Trump would get no more than 204 electoral votes, and that he had little chance of winning any of the battleground states, and that even dead-red Georgia was a toss-up. On the record, Spicer and the RNCs chief of staff, Katie Walsh, did several network and newspaper briefings just before the election in which they downplayed the race at the top of the ticket and instead talked about the importance of down-ballot races and the improvement in the RNCs ground game. But Spicer was so convinced of a Trump loss that he was actively petitioning networks for a job the week before the election. In the coming months, a lack of loyalty would split the new administration in two. The actions of Spicer and other RNC staff helped widen that divide.