Trump demanded mass arrests of BLM protesters — because he feared Tucker Carlson would turn on him: book
In Michael Wolff's new book, Landslide, he describes President Donald Trump as furious and fearful about potentially being attacked by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
When protests broke out in Portland and Seattle, Carlson was broadcasting it as if the entire city was under attack. While Trump initially had empathy for George Floyd after watching the horrific murder video, when he saw the violence in the streets he was undone.
Now that the protests were triggering Tucker Carlson, according to Wolff's book, Trump decided "George Floyd was killing him."
Trump had tried to show strength by walking across the street of the White House to St. John's Church with his generals. Protesters were tear-gassed, reporters were attacked, and Trump complained that he was ultimately "killed for that."
"He looked weak," described Wolff. "And it wasn't just the lamestream media on him—Tucker Carlson on Fox was calling him weak and ineffective. What's more, he was being screwed by his own Justice Department and attorney general, paralyzed, afraid to move, Bill Barr, such a suck-up, but as worthless, it turned out, as Jeff Sessions, the man he'd replaced for being worthless."
Trump "had had enough," Wolff described. "He needed legal action and media pushback."
"I'm getting killed on Tucker and we're not doing a damn thing," Trump screamed at chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone.
"Protestors in Portland and Seattle were taking over everything. They were toppling statues and nobody was doing anything—making him look … weak! Looking weak was as bad as you could look. Cipollone said they had things in motion," which was probably the worst thing he could have said, Wolff explained.
"I don't give a sh*t what you have in motion, I want them in jail," Trump bellowed. "They should get ten years in prison for toppling a statue."
He then called the Portland mayor a "loser" and asked if they could just "send in the Guard."
"Cipollone, stammering, tried to explain the procedures for employing National Guard forces," Wolf explained.
"You've been telling me that sh*t for weeks," said Trump. "I'm getting killed. Tucker is talking to millions of people. But you and Barr and all of my 'great lawyers' aren't doing a damn thing. Shut it down! Arrest them! Do what you have to do! I have the worst lawyers. Get the radicals locked up! You guys can't even do that! What is wrong with you? I have to do everything myself."
Trump at the time had an audience of millions on social media and could rival Carlson. Still, he was terrified.
Wolff's book Landslide is on sale now.