Donald Trump was afraid to face his wife following the leak of the infamous Access Hollywood tape. A new book about the First Lady outlines the fall out in their relationship.
Trump’s comments about women on Access Hollywood became an issue during the 2016 election. The then Republican candidate told a TV host in 2005 that he could “grab them by the pussy.”
Following the tape’s release to the public, Trump was nervous about seeing Melania Trump, according to The Art of Her Deal, a new book by journalist Mary Jordan.
“Trump was quiet,” Jordan writes. “[Former New Jersey Governor [Chris] Christie knew what Trump was dreading: facing Melania.”
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“Trump was so embarrassed that, as one person in the room recalled, ‘He turned red; red was coming up his neck to his ears,” the book claims.
“‘I think he understood early on that it was going to create ramifications for him at home, too,'” Jordan goes on to quote.
Christie, who played a major role in Trump’s campaign, reportedly explained: “Everybody was saying, ‘You should go upstairs and see Melania. Why don’t you go upstairs now and see Melania?'”
“That night he seemed frightened to go face his wife,” another one of Jordan’s sources said.
When Trump finally did speak to Melania, she showed off her “fury quietly and deliberately.” She was also worried that the release of the tape could cost them the presidency.
“Now you could lose,” Melania reportedly told Trump. “You could have blown this for us.”
The future First Lady eventually issued a public rebuke of her husband, though the same statement also defended his character. Mary Jordan’s book has been controversial, but she is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
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Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media
