Trump Reportedly Points Out 'Bill and Monica' Room During White House Tours
A new book claims that President Donald Trump jokes about former President Bill Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky while giving White House tours.
The Washington Post on Monday released excerpts of a new book by former White House aide Cliff Sims. The book, “Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House,” chronicles what Sims calls the inner life of the Trump White House.
The excerpt said that during a 2017 tour, the president showed guests a small room just off the Oval Office.
“Trump told a TV anchor, ‘I’m told this is where Bill and Monica…’ — stopping himself from going further,” the excerpt reads.
The excerpt said Trump also tells guests, “We’ve remodeled it since then.”
By way of corroboration, The Post then added, “Three other people who have embarked on a tour with Trump said he made similar comments regarding the former president and the White House intern, laughing and making facial expressions. The subject often leads to lengthy, sometimes crass conversations, aides said.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders declined to comment about any mention of Clinton or Lewinsky during tours.
“The president is proud of the White House and its rich history,” she said.
Newsweek said the book painted an unflattering picture of Trump’s advisers.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway was called a “cartoon villain brought to life” and notorious leaker. Former Chief of Staff John Kelly had a “country first, president second” approach, the book said.
A report in Politico, based on sources it did not name, said Trump disputes the overall tone of the book.
The report said Trump asks aides, “Who is this guy? Why is he writing this book? He wasn’t even in meetings.”
Trump tweeted in a similar vein.
A low level staffer that I hardly knew named Cliff Sims wrote yet another boring book based on made up stories and fiction. He pretended to be an insider when in fact he was nothing more than a gofer. He signed a non-disclosure agreement. He is a mess!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2019
The book, as excerpted by The Post, includes an anecdote about Anthony Scaramucci, who served as White House communications director for 11 days.
He said that aides who were told to leak information to the media were instructed by Scaramucci to say, “I cannot do that. I only report to Anthony Scaramucci and he reports directly to the president of the United States.”
The tactic bemused the president
“Can you believe this guy?” Trump said, according to the excerpt. “He’s completely out of his mind — like, on drugs or something — totally out of his mind. We’ll figure it out, but the guy is crazy.”
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