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'Bitter' Donald Trump spent his early post-presidency period 'in exile,' playing golf, and mourning loss of his favorite White House perk, new book reveals
Donald Trump looked like a 'deflated Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz' when he arrived in Palm Beach after losing the 2020 election and moving out of the White House, according to a new book.
The former president is described as having been 'unmoored, unsettled, unpopular and in exile', in the days after leaving office and reluctantly handing the reins over to successor Joe Biden.
Author and Politico national correspondent Meridith McGraw lays bare his struggle to adjust to life post-presidency and coming to terms with his defeat, in new book, Trump in Exile, set to be released on August 6.
After flying on Air Force One for the last time on January 20, 2021, Trump stepped off the plane in Florida to a radically different existence.
He 'bitterly retreated to Palm Beach where he was angry, frustrated, staring down a second impeachment, unsure of how to fill his days,' she writes.
Shunned by the Republican party and the nation because of his actions on January 6, Trump was 'bewildered and crestfallen' as he tried to come to terms with being a loser.
Donald Trump is described as having been 'unmoored, unsettled, unpopular and in exile', in the period after he left the White House and relocated to his home in Palm Beach, Florida
After flying on Air Force One for the last time on January 20, 2021, Trump stepped off the plane in Florida to a radically different existence
He was left fuming by the indignities resulting from his defeat, such as no longer being able to summon his favorite drink Diet Coke at the press of a button and dealing with a 'chaotic' staff.
At one point he even tried to arrange for a press pool to address the media, just to be told that only sitting presidents had that privilege.
McGraw's vivid picture of Trump's days after leaving the White House is a striking contrast to his fortunes now, almost four years later.
The 45th president, who was officially declared the Republican party's nominee in the upcoming presidential election on Thursday, has been on a hot streak after favorable rulings by the Supreme Court on presidential immunity and the dismissal of his documents case in Florida.
The first presidential debate last month also helped bolster his image after a shocking performance by opponent Joe Biden, 81, raised fears and questions about whether the oldest sitting president is fit for reelection.
Meridith McGraw's book goes on sale on August 6
And Trump's survival of an assassination attempt last Saturday has only further hardened the resolve of his followers, with polls suggesting that he is likely to beat Biden and take back the White House in November's election.
But back in January 2021 Trump had been 'cast aside by the general public' thanks to the January 6 insurrection, McGraw writes.
She describes the situation as 'unprecedented and bizarre' that led to Trump being 'in a political limbo of his own making'.
In a breach of tradition, Trump did not attend Biden's inauguration and instead took his final flight on Air Force One to Palm Beach.
One aide who was on the flight called the mood 'weird' and 'bittersweet'.
Flight attendants served steak and eggs with grits and Trump stayed in an office near the front of the plane by himself.
Jason Miller, one of his closest aides, tried to reassure him by saying: 'You're not going anywhere. You're still the big dog'.
But the 'sparsely staffed plane' was already a contrast to the buzz of the White House.
McGraw writes that Trump 'landed in Palm Beach a former President, looking like a deflated Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz'.
She writes that Trump was 'bewildered and crestfallen' at the change in his status.
Trump, a known soda fanatic, reportedly drank up to 12 cans of Diet Coke per day during his time as commander-in-chief
According to the book, he was left fuming by the indignities resulting from his defeat, such as no longer being able to summon his favorite soft drink at the press of a button
Trump also repeatedly asked his aides to summon a press pool when he wanted to address the media, only to be told those privileges were reserved for sitting presidents, the author claims
According to McGraw 'everyone in Washington thought Trump ought to stay there (Mar-a-Lago) for good'.
She writes: 'The Republican party was ready to break free of the MAGA movement and a man who had turned the entire country on its head'.
But there was a surprise for everyone: hundreds of Trump supporters lined the streets all the way back to Mar-a-Lago cheering for him.
According to one Trump aide: 'It was packed with people the whole way. And I think at that moment I think he realized: they're still with me. The people are still with me'
Upon Trump's return to Florida, aides and staff at Mar-a-Lago formed a 'kind of cocoon' around Trump to cushion the blow of his electoral rebuke.
They encouraged Trump to show up at the weddings of guests which were being held at Mar-a-Lago, where he would get standing ovations.
Trump took to DJing on a private Spotify account at public events where he would play songs by Elton John and the Rolling Stones, as well as Frank Sinatra.
McGraw writes: 'Trump was wrapped in a world inside the walls of Mar-a-Lago that reinforced everything that Trump believed about himself.
The 45th POTUS and First Lady Melania were seen stepping off Air Force One for the final time after arriving in Palm Beach
He reportedly spent his time 'unsure how to fill his days', swaddled himself in the constant adulation of his Mar-a-Lago members and paid aides, and was 'comforted by his daily routine of morning golf and nightly applause'
After settling into his now permanent home, staff even cleared an area in his office at Mar-a-Lago to make room for a desk similar to the president's Resolute Desk at the White House
'He swaddled himself in the constant adulation of his Mar-a-Lago members and paid aides and was comforted by his daily routine of morning golf and nightly applause'.
A small group of officials had begun crafting a second term agenda before Trump left office but in early 2021 that seemed 'as likely as taking a rocket ship across the universe'.
McGraw writes that there was no place for Trump to go - not even Fox wanted him on.
She describes him as 'unmoored, unsettled, unpopular and in exile' during this time.
He was 'angry, frustrated, staring down a second impeachment' and 'unsure of how to fill his days', the book states.
He golfed a lot with Kid Rock one of his favorite partners on the links, McGraw says.
Describing that time period as Trump's 'personal and political nadir', McGraw writes that Trump licked his wounds as the brutal January 6 hearings took place in Congress.
Trump watched his second impeachment on TV and became 'annoyed with his own legal team's lengthy and boring opening presentation'.
McGraw describes Trump's legal strategy as 'madcap' and says that Trump objected to attorney David Castor's 'boxy untailored look'.
Aids were photographed moving boxes to Marine One on January 20, 2021, before Trump and the first family left the White House
A moving truck was parked outside Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, days before Trump moved back to his full-time residence in January 2021
The office of the White House press secretary is seen after being vacated for the incoming Biden Administration on Inauguration Day
According to the book, Trump complained to one aide that Castor looked like 'one of those old-time movies, like Dick Tracy or something!'
Trump aide Jason Miller called up a suit store and got a tailor to take Castor's measurements and got him a suit delivered in time for the next day's session.
Yet that wasn't enough and Trump told Miller he didn't want to see Castor go on TV again, sparking a furious dispute where Castor nearly quit.
Trump's staff were in no better shape and when they arrived in Mar-a-Lago they had no official space to work from and no Wi-Fi for them to use.
Amid the chaos there were racks of clothing in the hallways and, prosecutors claimed, boxes of some of the nation's most sensitive secrets lying around in unsecured areas.
McGraw says it was 'unsettled, chaotic, unplanned – all of that on steroids'.
Trump's staff cleared an area of Mar-a-Lago for Trump's office and bought a desk almost as big as the Resolute desk to put there.
There was a window overlooking palm trees, the Mar-a-Lago estate and pictures of Trump's family and photos of Air Force One on the walls.
But as McGraw writes, there was no valet or special button that would immediately bring him a Diet Coke, as he had in the White House.
There was no switchboard operator who would dial up his calls for him.
Upon Trump's return to Florida, aides and staff at Mar-a-Lago formed a 'kind of cocoon' around Trump to cushion the blow of his defeat, the author writes. He is seen gesturing to supporters en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort after leaving Washington
A supporter of President Donald Trump waits for the motorcade on the road to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Palm Beach estate
One of the few signs a former president was living there was the model of Air Force One with the redesign that Trump approved while in office - Biden scrapped the plans when he came into office.
Trump began hosting film nights as a way to stay connected to current events including the premiere of 'Rigged: The Zuckerberg Funded Plot to Defeat Donald Trump', which claimed the 2020 election was stolen by the social media company.
Trump was so impressed he said it was better than Orson Welles's classic Citizen Kane.
McGraw writes: 'Trump turned Mar-a-Lago into his own kind of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, with a red carpet, movie posters, Trump-branded champagne, popcorn and puff pastry hors d'oeuvres.
'Trump used the film nights to try and show how his home had become the "mecca for a conservative counterculture'". A Hollywood hub for the decidedly anti-Hollywood crowd.
'Inside Trump's own Truman Show set, he could live out unchallenged the alternate reality over and over again _ that he had won the election'
But as McGraw makes clear, Trump's rejection by the political establishment did not mean that he had lost his power and among the party faithful, he was still a 'dominating force'.
In February 2021, he made his first public appearance since leaving the White House at CPAC, the conservative conference.
McGraw writes that it 'showcased Trump's total dominance of the party' and proved he was still a 'fundraising juggernaut'.
After his speech $3million poured into Save America, Trump's leadership PAC that he set up two days after the 2020 result was called for Biden.
Trump realized that the best way to use his power was to endorse candidates who backed his views and 'punish' those who didn't.
Soon Trump's endorsement became essential for any aspiring Republican or incumbent seeking re-election. Those who didn't were subjected to a barrage of abuse online by Trump.
Trump, who ear was grazed by a bullet during an assassination attempt on July 13, made a triumphant arrival at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday
On Monday, Trump announced that Ohio Senator JD Vance would be his running mate
His support for Rep. Jody Hice was 'revenge' against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, who refused to give Trump 11,000 votes during his infamous phone call after the 2020 election.
Trump's 'top priority' was taking down former Rep Liz Cheney, who was on the panel which held the January 6th hearings in Congress.
According to McGraw, when Trump's pick Harriet Hageman beat Cheney for her Wyoming seat it was the 'defining victory of his midterm crusade against those who crossed him'
Among the others who won Trump's backing was J.D. Vance, the Ohio Senator who he chose this week to be his vice presidential running mate.
According to the book, when Vance ran for the Senate Trump was initially skeptical of him because he had opposed him in the past.
During one meeting Trump said to Vance: 'You weren't a big fan of me in 2016. I like you but you said some really nasty things about me'
According to McGraw, Trump was 'particularly fixated on Vance's looks' and said to one aide: 'This J.D, he really looks the part…he looks like a senator….very handsome'
After accepting an invitation to play a round with Trump at a West Palm Beach golf club, Vance asked to take a photo with him.
Vance asked to post it online and Trump said no, but he told him: 'You are one handsome son of a b****'.