'He's scared s—less!': Trump's former chief of staff
‘He’s scared s—less!’ Trump’s former chief of staff says ex-president is terrified of going to jail after being indicted on 37 counts over mishandling of classified documents
- John Kelly, who served as Donald Trump’s chief of staff from July 2017 to January 2019, said on Tuesday he believed his former boss was terrified of prison
- ‘For the first time in his life, it looks like he’s being held accountable,’ Kelly told Washington Post: he is facing 37 counts, many of which have 20 year sentences
- Stephanie Grisham, who served as Trump’s communications chief, said that his upbeat tone and being surrounded by fans was ‘part PR, part babysitting’
Donald Trump’s former chief of staff has claimed that the 77-year-old is ‘scared s***less’ about going to prison for the rest of his life – adding that he is finally being ‘held accountable’ for his actions.
John Kelly, a four star general in the Marines who served as Trump’s chief of staff from July 2017 to January 2019, said he felt Trump’s posturing after his indictment on Tuesday was to conceal his fear.
‘He’s scared s—less,’ said Kelly, speaking to The Washington Post.
‘This is the way he compensates for that. He gives people the appearance he doesn’t care by doing this.
‘For the first time in his life, it looks like he’s being held accountable. Up until this point in his life, it’s like, I’m not going to pay you; take me to court. He’s never been held accountable before.’
John Kelly served as Donald Trump’s chief of staff from 2017-19. He said the former president was ‘scared s***less’ about possibly going to prison
Kelly, a four star Marine general, has said he took the job of chief of staff out of a sense of duty to his country, but has since been outspoken about Trump’s unsuitability for the presidency
Trump, immediately after his indictment, surrounded himself with adoring fans at a Cuban restaurant in Little Havana
Trump on Tuesday was determined to project confidence, and show his supporters that he was being wrongfully charged.
His team posted on social media a clip of the Will Smith song with the lyrics ‘Welcome to Miami’ as he arrived at court, and after the appearance he stopped by a Cuban restaurant in Little Havana, where he was mobbed by fans. In the evening, he delivered a defiant speech to a crowd of supporters at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club – and raised more than $2 million in donations from those who paid to attend.
‘It’s part public relations and part babysitting,’ said Stephanie Grisham, one of Trump’s former White House press secretaries.
‘He wants people to see the cheering crowds so they don’t think anything is going wrong.
‘It’s also because the staff around him want to keep him busy and wants to have people cheering for him and giving him the ego stroke that he’ll need so they don’t have to deal with him being completely pissed.’
Stephanie Grisham, pictured on July 9, 2019 with Donald Trump and John Bolton, the National Security Advisor, said that Trump being surrounded with supporters after his indictment was ‘part PR and part babysitting’
Sources close to Trump told the paper that he was most irritated by his reputation for having a volcanic temper, and being enraged by the indictment.
On the eve of the court hearing, Trump, asked how he was feeling, told a radio show: ‘It’s fine.’
The host, Howie Carr, replied: ‘You sound like you’re in great spirits.’
Trump agreed.
‘I am,’ Trump said. ‘I’m just fighting for the country.’
CNBC reported Wednesday that supporters who donated or raised more than $100,000 toward his 2024 White House bid were invited to a ‘candlelit dinner’ at Bedminster, on Tuesday night.
They were fed Trump favorites including burgers and crab cakes, and were served wine and cocktails.
The initial invitation had teased special Congressional guests, but only Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville made it to New Jersey, as there were votes Tuesday night.
Trump raised more than $2 million from donors who attended a ‘candlelight dinner’ with him at Bedminster Tuesday night
The former president spoke to a crowd of several hundred outside the clubhouse at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, was on hand for Trump’s speech at Bedminster and stayed after for the intimate ‘candlelight dinner,’ in which only donors who forked over $100,000 or more could attend
Prior to the more exclusive dinner, a crowd of several hundred gathered in front of the clubhouse to hear him deliver blistering remarks about the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
That event attracted some Trumpworld favorites including My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, Sebastian Gorka, Andrew Giuliani and Bernie Kerik.
Eric Trump attended the event, as did Kimberly Guilfoyle, the fiancee of Donald Trump Jr.
Melania Trump remained in New York City.
Aides who had traveled with the president to Miami, including Boris Epshteyn and Margo Martin, were also on hand for the speech.
Walt Nauta, who is also facing federal charges over the Mar-a-Lago documents case, returned to New Jersey with the president, Trump’s spokesman said, but DailyMail.com did not spot him in the audience for the speech.
One large group in the audience was Vietmanese Americans for America First, who were easy to spot as all the women were sporting the same red MAGA dress.
Trump told the audience that the prosecution was ‘the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country.’
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (left) stands alongside Eric Trump (center) and Kimberly Guilfoyle (right), the fiancee of Donald Trump Jr.
Some Trumpworld favorites assembled at Bedminster Tuesday night including My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell (left) and Sebastian Gorka (right), who briefly worked at the Trump White House
Several hundred Trump supporters came out to see him speak, before a handful of people were invited to dinner with the ex-president as part of a $2 million fundraiser
Former NYPD commissioner Bernie Kerik chats with guests Tuesday night ahead of Trump’s speech at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort
Andrew Giuliani, who worked in the Trump administration and is the son of former New York City Mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, was on hand Tuesday night in Bedminster
‘I did everything right and they indicted me,’ he complained.
The former president suggested that other political figures had gotten away with much worse.
‘He lost the nuclear codes,’ Trump claimed of Bill Clinton, who he called a ‘nice guy.’
‘They should have used him a little bit more as an adviser in the 2016 election,’ Trump also joked, alluding to how he beat Clinton’s wife Hillary in the presidential election that year.
Trump also charged that George W. Bush’s White House ‘lost 22 million emails.’
‘A document shredding truck was spotted on the way to Dick Cheney’s house. Can you imagine?’ the former president added.
He spoke at length about the Bill Clinton ‘socks’ case, which fact-checkers have already said isn’t a valid comparison to what Trump is accused of doing.
When Trump paused to take a swig out of a bottle of water a member of the crowd shouted ‘Happy Birthday!’ at him.
He turned 77 on Wednesday.
‘Nice birthday isn’t it?’ the ex-president commented.
Trump grinned as a crowd of supporters then sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him.
‘Nice birthday. Wonderful birthday,’ he said.
‘I was with Eric and Lara and the kids – ‘Happy Birthday grandpa!’ – I said oh great, I just got charged with, they want 400 years approximately, if you add them all up.
‘A fake 400 years. So thank you darling, that’s so nice. It’s a wonderful birthday,’ the former president continued.
‘We’re going to make it into the greatest birthday of all.’
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