Former Trump Staffer Reveals How Putin Played Him Like a Puppet

Donald Trump was an easy mark for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Trump’s former national security adviser.

H.R. McMaster writes in his upcoming book, At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, that Putin used Trump’s “ego and insecurities” to influence Trump as president. The Guardian obtained an advance copy of the book, due to be released on August 27.

Trump infamously praised Putin throughout his presidential term, dismissed criticism from his staff of the Russian autocrat, and would fire McMaster as a result in 2018. The now-retired general spoke about Trump’s incomprehensible defenses of Putin in the book.

“After over a year in this job, I cannot understand Putin’s hold on Trump,” McMaster recalls telling his wife Katie in 2018 after the news that Putin’s agents had poisoned a Russian dissident in the United Kingdom, Sergei Skripal, along with his daughter. 

After the assassination attempt, as other world leaders sought to make a strong response to Putin, Trump was especially happy with a New York Post article headlined “Putin heaps praise on Trump, pans US politics,” writing a friendly note to the Russian president with a black Sharpie and asking McMaster “to get the clipping to Putin.”

“I was certain that Putin would use Trump’s annotated clipping to embarrass him and provide cover for the attack,” McMaster wrote in the book, adding that he handed the note over to a White House office that handles communications from the president.

“Later, as evidence mounted that the Kremlin, and very likely Putin himself had ordered the nerve agent attack on Skripal, I told them not to send it,” McMaster wrote.

McMaster wrote that “Putin, a ruthless former KGB operator, played to Trump’s ego and insecurities with flattery,” trying to drive a wedge between Trump and his staffers seeking a tougher stance against Russia.

“Putin had described Trump as ‘a very outstanding person, talented, without any doubt’, and Trump had revealed his vulnerability to this approach, his affinity for strongmen, and his belief that he alone could forge a good relationship with Putin,” wrote McMaster. “The fact that most foreign policy experts in Washington advocated for a tough approach to the Kremlin seemed only to drive the president to the opposite approach.”

Many of the generals and national security officials who served under Trump have had a falling out with the Republican presidential nominee. His former chief of staff, General John Kelly, said that Trump praised Adolf Hitler and made disparaging comments about veterans, calling them suckers and losers. Another former national security adviser, John Bolton, has said that Trump “can’t tell the difference between what’s true and what’s false.” If Trump is elected again, it’s all but guaranteed that he’ll put America’s safety and security at risk.

Oh, brother.

At an event Tuesday night, professional wrestler Hulk Hogan threatened Kamala Harris while making fun of her biracial background.

“Want me to body-slam Kamala Harris?” a noticeably drunk Hogan asked the crowd at an Ohio event promoting his new beer. “Want me to drop the weight on Kamala?”

Threatening the sitting vice president with violence wasn’t enough for the WWE star as he then moved to racist comments. “Is Kamala a chameleon? Is she Indian?” he asked.

Hogan, though famous for his body slam moves, is more well known recently in political circles for his legal battle with Gawker and for ripping his shirt off at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month.

Imagine if someone who spoke at the Democratic National Convention hit Trump with the same threat.

Hogan’s comments are also further proof that all of MAGA seems to have a problem recognizing biracial people. During Trump’s interview with the National Association of Black Journalists last month, the former president stated that for years, Harris “was Indian all the way, and then suddenly she made a turn and she became a Black person.”

Before blaming the beers on his outrageous comments, Hogan took the time to get one last racist jab in, shouting “how” and doing a stereotypical Native American greeting. Doing so, Hogan was trying to invoke tropes about Native American “Indians” to poke fun at Harris.

“I’m going to get heat for that one, brother,” said the wrestler, who was fired from the WWE after he was caught on tape using the N-word.

When it comes to support from young voters, Kamala Harris is absolutely pummeling former President Donald Trump, according to new polling.

Harris has surpassed Trump by a whopping 32 points among 18- to 29-years-olds living in seven battleground states as of Tuesday, according to polling from Voters of Tomorrow.

The poll surveyed more than 1,500 young voters in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, and Wisconsin between August 16 and August 20.

When deciding which candidate to support, the majority of respondents said they cared most about jobs, the economy, and the cost of living. When asked which candidate they trusted more to address this issue, the gap between the candidates significantly narrowed, with 38 percent saying Harris and 33 percent saying Trump.

Early on in her campaign, the vice president was able to establish an edge over her opponent, and a boost over her predecessor President Joe Biden. In a Biden-Trump race, the split among 18- to 34-year-olds was far more even, with 53 percent for Biden and 47 for Trump.

In a Harris-Trump race, the same group was split 60 percent for Harris and 40 for Trump, giving Harris a 20-point lead, according to an Axios/Generation Lab poll published last month. Since then, the gap between Harris and Trump has only grown.

Online, grassroots enthusiasm for Harris’s campaign began before she was even announced as the candidate, propelled by memes and fan edits created and disseminated by young internet users, who had begun urging Joe Biden to drop out of the race. Harris has been able to build her momentum among this group, which could translate into a surge at the polls—if Harris is able to address their policy concerns.

Voters of Tomorrow found that two-thirds of their poll respondents said that they were very likely or certain to vote in November’s election.

Donald Trump has been bleeding support since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the race, as some of his most loyal supporters turn the page on him. White supremacists have taken to Truth Social to brand the Republican nominee as a “coward” for initially backing out of a debate against Harris, while others have claimed that the Trump campaign is headed toward a “catastrophic loss” this November.

So, in an apparent effort to regain the attention and possibly the favor of younger generations, Trump opted for an interview with one of the most unexpected personalities: comedian Theo Von. The combination came with the recommendation of Barron Trump, who the Republican nominee said at the top of the show is a “big fan” of Von’s, describing the podcaster as “a big one.”

Over the course of an hour on Von’s podcast This Past Weekend, the pair discussed the attempt on Trump’s life, UFC fighting, health care, the border, and Trump’s teetotaler reputation and supposed sobriety.

During one particular exchange on drugs, Trump poked Von on his knowledge of cocaine, describing the stimulant as “down and dirty.”

“Some of the stuff started to get a real rattle in it, too,” Von said. “I don’t know where we were even getting it from in this country, but yeah, it started to make me feel like I was a mechanic or something. So the thing you go back to then is alcohol for the most part. “

“Is cocaine a stronger up?” Trump asked.

“Yeah,” Von said. “So you’re way up with cocaine more than anything else you can think of. Cocaine will turn you into a damn owl, homie. You know what I’m saying? You’ll be out on your own porch. You’ll be your own street lamp. You’re freaking—”

“And is that a good feeling?” Trump interjected.

“Well, it’s a miserable feeling, but you do it anyway, just like the guy you’re saying with the scotch,” Von replied, referring to a story Trump had shared about one of his former alcoholic friends.

Whether or not Trump actively uses drugs doesn’t change the fact that he practically endorsed their rampant abuse in the White House during his administration. Under Donald Trump’s leadership, the West Wing operated more like a pill mill than the White House, according to a January report by the Department of Defense inspector general, which capped a six-year investigation into the administration’s medical practices.

Common pills included modafinil, Adderall, fentanyl, morphine, and ketamine, according to the Pentagon report. But other, unlisted drugs—such as Xanax—were equally easy to come by from the White House medical unit, according to sources that spoke to Rolling Stone.

At least two senior staffers would regularly mix the depressant with alcohol, a potentially life-threatening combo, to deal with the stress of working with a highly erratic boss.

“You try working for him and not chasing pills with alcohol,” one source told Rolling Stone.

Amazingly, Trump wasn’t Von’s only major political booking in recent days. Last week, the down-to-earth comedian spoke with practically the opposite end of the political spectrum from Trump: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

As Donald Trump returned to Michigan to speak about crime, he deliberately ignored the truth: Crime is down. 

Standing under a banner that read “Make America Safe Again” on Tuesday, Trump spoke about law and order and a so-called “Kamala crime wave” occurring at levels “nobody has ever seen before.” But when journalists tried to ask him about that claim, he got scared.

According to The Detroit News, the Trump team had originally agreed to sit down for an interview with their newspaper Tuesday. However, after reporters pushed the former president about spreading lies about Michigan’s crime data, “a campaign aide said the presidential candidate no longer had time for an interview after the speech.”

Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation doesn’t show any crime wave phenomenon. In the two years since the former president left office, violent crime has continued to drop and return to pre-pandemic levels.

Michigan specific data also fails to show any spike in violent crime under a Democratic administration. Homicides in Detroit are down to their lowest total since 1966, according to police data reviewed by The Detroit News. But Trump doesn’t want to talk about that. So much so that he’s dodging interviews with local journalists about crime.

“Facts don’t matter when it comes to him,” Democratic state Representative Tyrone Carter, a former sheriff, told The Detroit News. “It’s about telling a story that benefits you.”

Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer made shallow attacks against former Donald Trump aide Stephanie Grisham, who called the former president out at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night for mocking his base. But the failed politician couldn’t deny the truth of what Grisham was saying.

Grisham, a former White House press secretary, revealed that Trump “mocks his supporters behind closed doors,” and claimed that Melania Trump had refused to call for peaceful protests as the January 6 riot was unfolding. Grisham also voiced her support for Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention.

Loomer, ever the pro-Trump hate-poster, didn’t like that one bit.

“Another traitor who got rich off Donald Trump and then turned on him on J6,” Loomer wrote in a post on X. “I guess she started eating uncontrollably ever since she quit Trump. She must have gained about 75 pounds since she ‘resigned.’”

“Now she’s voting for @KamalaHarris. That’s what happens when you hit the wall,” Loomer wrote.

It’s not unusual for Loomer’s criticisms to take on a personal, substanceless approach to their subjects. Last month, she landed in hot water for calling former Representative Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt, “brain dead.”

But Grisham held her ground, hitting back against Loomer’s attack. “I’ve actually hit menopause, which sucks a ton & yes it’s a weight struggle,” Grisham wrote on X. “Def not rich either—I run a non-profit animal sanctuary & could barely afford the blazer I wore tonight. BUT…I told the truth & plan to keep doing so.”

Mercedes Schlapp, Trump’s former White House Director of Strategic Communications, also failed to refute Grisham’s damning claims about Trump, similarly opting to attack Grisham personally. On stage, Grisham had said she hadn’t held a briefing at the White House because, “Unlike my boss, I never wanted to stand at the podium and lie.”

“Grisham is lying,” Schlapp wrote in a post on X. “No one in the White House had the confidence in her to effectively answer reporters’ questions at the podium.”

No matter what happens in the 2024 elections, J.D. Vance will be making money.

The Republican vice presidential nominee and Ohio senator is pulling in massive royalties from the sales of his first memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which returned to the top spot on The New York Times bestseller list after Vance was named Donald Trump’s running mate. Meanwhile, he also has an $8 million deal for a book sequel, which he secured back in 2017, reports Variety.

According to his financial disclosures, Vance made $823,132 in royalties from his first book’s sales in 2020 and 2021, but less than $50,000 in 2023. He’s expected to rake in much more than that in 2024 thanks to his political ascendancy. According to HarperCollins, the book sold 650,000 copies in the first few days after Trump picked Vance.

Vance also got a portion of the $45 million that Netflix paid for the book’s movie rights in 2019. The movie has returned to Netflix’s top 10 in the weeks since Vance returned to the national spotlight.

These revelations shed more light on the incentives Vance had to join Trump’s ticket. Even if Trump loses the election in November, Vance still stands to make money, with another book on the horizon promising more royalties, assuming people would want to read it. Like Vance, Trump is represented by Hollywood talent agency WME, which helped the former president earn more than $400 million from NBC’s The Apprentice, and money from lucrative ad deals.

But unlike Vance, Trump’s old moneymakers aren’t popular these days. His old reality show and its spin-off, Celebrity Apprentice, aren’t available on any streaming platforms. His signature book, The Art of the Deal, was only a bestseller thanks to Trump gaming the system and has since been discredited by its ghostwriter, Tony Schwartz. He’s had to resort to making money off of new schemes, like the $300,000 in royalties he made from hawking Bibles. Will he still be able to rake in money if he loses?

Night two of the Democratic National Convention was all about building a sense of unity among Americans. The star-studded lineup urged patience as people work out their political differences to rally behind presidential candidates who will fight for the good of the American people rather than for their own benefit. But it also included several memorable quips that didn’t land anywhere near the high road.

During an impassioned speech formally endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama cut Donald Trump down to size, referring to the Republican nominee’s act as “stale,” calling his unmoderated bloviating “dangerous,” and describing his behavior in office as singularly self-serving and intentionally divisive.

But Obama also included one jab at Trump that is likely to stick with him: a comment on his so-called “crowd size.”

“Here’s a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago,” Obama said. “It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that’s actually been getting worse now that he is afraid of losing to Kamala.”

“There’s the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes,” he added, bringing his hands together to illustrate Trump’s “tiny size” while feigning shock at the crowd’s uproar.

A group of retired Teamsters took the stage at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, in a move that both signaled their support for Kamala Harris and a subtle snub to their leader, who had backed Donald Trump last month.

Senator Gary Peters from Michigan initially appeared on stage, but he was just the opening act.

“On the other hand, we have Donald Trump and J.D. Vance,” Peters said, comparing the Republican ticket to Harris and Tim Walz. “And let’s be clear. If they win, if they win, working people like my friends here from the Teamsters will pay the price.”

As he spoke, more than two dozen Teamsters entered on stage, standing on either side of him.

“Their Project 2025 agenda is the same old same old. Gut overtime pay. Cut health care programs. And give billions in tax breaks to billionaires!” Peters said.

“We, we cannot let that happen. And we will not let that happen!”

Peters turned over the stage to Kenneth Stribling, a retired Teamster and president of the National United Committee to Protect Pensions. Stribling spoke about learning that his monthly pension would be reduced in half in 2025, and organizing with other retirees to make it right.

“Finally, we had a breakthrough. After 50 days in office, the Biden-Harris administration passed the American Rescue Plan, including the Butch Lewis Act. They got it done without one single Republican vote in Congress. They saved over one million pensions, including 33,000 from my state Wisconsin. 52,000 from Pennsylvania. 61,000 from Michigan,” Stribling said.

“As president, I know Kamala Harris will have our backs. She will fight for our retirement, social security, and Medicare.”

Last month, Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, became the first union leader to speak at the Republican National Convention, during which he painted Trump as an “ally for the working class.” A month or so later, Trump praised Elon Musk for firing striking workers, and O’Brien condemned the comment, calling it “economic terrorism.”

O’Brien reportedly did not hear back from the DNC about his request to speak.

As of Tuesday, two local Teamsters unions and a regional council on the West Coast had announced that they had endorsed Harris, despite the fact that Teamsters International has not endorsed her—a clear sign of dissension with O’Brien.

Former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham had a lot to say about Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. Taking the podium, Grisham who described herself as an original “true believer” and one of Trump’s closest advisers, said that “behind closed doors Trump mocks his supporters” and calls them “basement dwellers.”

It also seems like Trump believes his followers aren’t too bright either. “He used to tell me ‘it doesn’t matter what you say, Stephanie, just say it enough and people will believe you.’”

“He has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth,” said Grisham. She also explained that her decision to never hold a White House briefing had to do with Trump’s lack of care about the truth. “Unlike my boss, I never wanted to stand at the podium and lie.”

She also exposed texts between herself and Melania Trump during the January 6 insurrection. “Do you want to tweet that peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness & violence?” Grisham texted. Melania Trump allegedly replied with just one word: “No.”

Other Republicans speaking at the DNC include Ana Navarro-Cárdenas of The View, host of night two of the convention, former Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger, former Pence adviser Olivia Troye, and a three-time Trump voter working in construction, Kyle Sweetser, who spoke earlier Tuesday.

“I started to see Trump’s tariff policy in action, costs for construction workers like me were starting to soar,” Sweetser said. “I realized Trump wasn’t for me, he was for lining his own pockets.”

“Now I’m not left-wing, period.” he added, “but I believe our leaders should bring out the best in us. Not the worst. That’s why I’m voting for Kamala Harris.”