During the 2018 nomination process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the former guy “strongly considered” dropping the nominee and instead going with a “stronger candidate,” according to a new book by Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Trump wasn’t concerned that Kavanaugh was being investigated for a sexual misconduct incident with Christine Blasey Ford while in high school, but that Kavanaugh repeatedly stated — about 30 times — that he likes beer, and was too apologetic in his hearing.
Meadows writes that Trump, a teetotaler who was “extremely put off” by Kavanaugh’s professed affection for suds, proposed the idea of dropping Kavanaugh during a flight on Air Force One while Meadows was still a sitting congressman. Meadows advised against it for fear the “blowback would be severe.”
“We drank beer, and you know, so did, I think, the vast majority of people our age at the time. But in any event, we drank beer, and still do. So whatever, you know,” Kavanaugh said when grilled by senators about his past.
A refresher:
Trump was also “disappointed” that Kavanaugh appeared “almost apologetic” during the hearings, which the president viewed as being “weak,” Meadows writes in his new book “The Chief’s Chief.”
Other highlights in the (pop-up?) book:
- Meadows compares Trump’s speech upon returning to the White House from Walter Reed and his COVID-19 battle to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
“Although the prose wasn’t quite as polished as the Gettysburg Address, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln after the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, it had the same compressed, forceful quality that had made President Lincoln’s words so effective at the time they were delivered,” Meadows writes.
- Meadows reveals that Trump first tested positive before a debate with Joe Biden, exposing dozens of individuals to the virus. While Trump denied being severely ill, Meadows writes that the oxygen levels were dangerously low, and that Walter Reed was prepared for TFG to spend several weeks at the hospital.
- Trump was furious at the news being leaked that he was rushed to “the bunker” in the middle of civil unrest in Washington, and Meadows was ordered to find out who the leaker was. “To this day, everyone has a theory about where the leak came from. If I had to bet, I would say that it was probably Stephanie Grisham, Emma Doyle, or someone from the VP’s team.”
- Meadows took several shots at Fox News. He was peeved that Dana Perino’s show aired a Biden rally, and threatened that White House officials would be blocked from appearing on her show.