Believe it or not, there’s yet another new book about Donald Trump, a former president we’ll probably be talking about for a bit longer. This one’s called Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman. Considering Trump reportedly dubbed her his “psychiatrist,” it’s got quite a bit of new dirt, including that he bragged about not using the same toilet as Barack Obama and that he nearly fired Jared and Ivanka via a tweet.
Haberman also got glimpses into his views on the LGBTQIA+ community. As one can imagine, they’re not great. According to an excerpt obtained by The Daily Beast, famously boorish 45th president had a long history of homophobic behavior. In the early ‘80s, when the AIDS epidemic broke, he would phone reporters to see if people he’d shaken hands with were gay. Men he perceived as weak were called “queer” or “faggot,” if not to his faces. Instead, he would do his bullying safely behind closed doors. He would also brag that he paid an executive he believed to be “queer” less than others.
Trump, who has always tried to present himself as hyper-masculine (with mixed results), was also obsessed with the sexuality of those in his orbit. During a meeting with Mike Pence and former staffer Jason Miller, he said of the latter, “You know how sometimes someone turns out to be gay later and you knew? This guy, he isn’t even like one percent gay.”
And then there’s his response to trans people. Trump was not exactly delicate when discussing this sensitive issue, including when then-adviser Reince Priebus was discussing same-sex bathrooms. In a scenario, Preibus pretended to be a female trans student who wanted to use the girl’s bathroom:
Without missing a beat, Trump said he had a question.
“Cocked or decocked?” Trump asked.
Offering up a “blank stare,” the group was taken aback.
“Decocked?” an unspecified individual in the room responded.
Trump then began making “a chopping gesture.” “With cock or without cock?” he said.
When shocked advisers asked him what difference that makes, Trump shot back, ““What if a girl was in the bathroom and someone came in, lifted up a skirt, and a schlong was hanging out?”
In the meantime, Trump remains the presumptive nominee for the Republican presidential ticket in 2024, which he might have to do from jail.
(Via The Daily Beast)