Nov 29, 2017

Scoop: When Trump reamed Manafort

The cover of the forthcoming "Let Trump Be Trump" book. Photo / Hachette

The first Trump campaign book by true insiders hits on Tuesday -- "Let Trump Be Trump: The Inside Story of His Rise to the Presidency" (Hachette), by confidants Corey Lewandowski and Dave Bossie, who have secretly written a nugget-studded account.

This comes a month before Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," which takes a more critical look at Trump.

Deplorables, as Trump originals defiantly call themselves, will love "Let Trump Be Trump" — it's a campaign memoir / buddy picture. But journalists will also feast on it:

  • Paul Manafort — first a Trump delegate strategist, later campaign chairman, and now under indictment — takes a beating. Manafort's purview grew after Lewandowski was fired.
  • In April 2016, en route to a Delaware rally, Trump ordered the pilot of his personal chopper to fly lower in order to get cell service to chew out Manafort for suggesting the candidate not go on TV.
  • Trump barked a barrage of four-letter words: "I know guys like you, with your hair and your skin."
  • At one point in Iowa, Trump scolded Lewandowski: "You don't know what you're doing. This team is completely lost."
  • The authors write that Steve Bannon, when he first heard Trump was running for president, laughed and said: "Yeah, of what country?"
  • When "the kids" (Lewandowski and Hope Hicks) overnighted at Mar-a-Lago, Trump would insist they, and body man Keith Schiller, sit with him for dinner.
  • The boss would regale them with stories about himself. His table mates back then remain a rare breed today: True Trump loyalists.
  • Preorder here.

That's all for now – more soon. But as a last sneak peek (and a sign of the book's perspective), here's the dedication:

To President Donald J. Trump

And First Lady Melania Trump

And the entire Trump family for

Making America great again.

Go deeper

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

Japan's economy minister outlined plans on Monday to end the nationwide state of emergency as the number of new novel coronavirus cases continues to decline to less than 50 a day, per Bloomberg. Japan has reported 16,550 cases and 820 deaths.

By the numbers: Over 5.4 million people have tested positive for the virus as of Monday, and more than 2.1 million have recovered. The U.S. has reported the most cases in the world (over 1.6 million from 13.7 million tests). The U.K. is reporting over 36,800 deaths from the coronavirus — the most fatalities outside the U.S.

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 28 mins ago - Health

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of midnight ET: 5,401,701 — Total deaths: 345,060 — Total recoveries — 2,149,407 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of midnight ET: 1,643,238 — Total deaths: 97,720 — Total recoveries: 366,736 — Total tested: 14,163,195 — Map.
  3. World: White House announces travel restrictions on Brazil, coronavirus hotspot in Southern Hemisphere — Over 100 coronavirus cases in Germany tied to single day of church services — Boris Johnson backs top aide amid reports that he broke U.K. lockdown while exhibiting symptoms.
  4. Public health: Officials are urging Americans to wear masks headed into Memorial Day weekend — Report finds "little evidence" coronavirus under control in most states — Hurricanes, wildfires, the flu could strain COVID-19 response
  5. Economy: White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett says it's possible the unemployment rate could still be in double digits by November's election — Public employees brace for layoffs.
  6. Federal government: Trump attacks a Columbia University study that suggests earlier lockdown could have saved 36,000 American lives.
  7. What should I do? Hydroxychloroquine questions answered — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios. This graphic includes "probable deaths" that New York City began reporting on April 14.

President Trump doubled down on his push to reopen schools, tweeting late Sunday: "Schools in our country should be opened ASAP."

Zoom in: Trump pushed back on NIAD Director Anthony Fauci cautioning against the move earlier this month, calling his concerns "not an acceptable answer."

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 2 hours ago - Health