Donald Trump’s presidency was persistently mired in scandal
(Picture: Scott Olson/Getty)Donald Trump considered bombing Mexican drug labs while he was US president, a new tell-all memoir has disclosed.
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman writes in Confidence Man, which is released on Thursday, that a mistaken identity may have caused confusion around the issue.
“He raised it several times, eventually asking a stunned Defense (sic) Secretary Mark Esper whether the United States could indeed bomb the labs,” she wrote.
Mr Trump’s line of questioning followed Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health, telling the president that Mexican labs should be stopped in supplying drugs into the US by putting “lead to target”.
Mr Giroir had no authority over mobilising of weaponry but the account implies that Mr Trump may have mistaken him for a defence expert because of the health secretary’s dress uniform.
“The response from White House aides was not to try to change Trump’s view, but to consider asking Giroir not to wear his uniform to the Oval Office anymore,” Ms Haberman wrote.
Over 607 pages, Confidence Man lifts the lid on the Trump administration from the accounts of aides and White House insiders. Ms Haberman also interviewed Mr Trump on several occasions.
Other nuggets of gossip include that a Republican congresswoman once received a phone call from someone asking questions, claiming to be from the Washington Post who sounded “a lot like” the 45th president over the line.
Mr Trump also allegedly made vulgar comments about rape in conversation with former prime minister Theresa May and sometimes joked with advisors about how he longed for the demise or even death of German chancellor Angela Merkel.
The book concludes with a typed question and answer list with Mr Trump, who answered in entirely capital letters with his and the book’s parting words being: “FAKE NEWS - GOODNIGHT.”
