Trump told long-time friend Tom Barrack 'get out of my office' when he tried to convince the president to do the 'elegant' thing and concede to Biden
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images, Michael Kovac/Getty Images
- "Confidence Man" by NYT reporter Maggie Haberman, a new book on Donald Trump, was released Tuesday.
- Trump told his long-time friend Tom Barrack to "get out" after advising him to concede the 2020 election.
- Jared Kushner said he didn't press Trump to concede because he was the grandfather to his kids.
President Donald Trump told his long-time friend and fundraiser Tom Barrack to "get out" of the Oval Office after Barrack advised him do the "elegant" thing and concede the 2020 election to Joe Biden, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman's new book, "Confidence Man."
In an effort to convince Trump to admit he lost the election, Haberman wrote that Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump and husband of Ivanka Trump, thought Barrack might be able to level with Kushner's father-in-law because he refused to listen to anyone.
As soon as Barrack entered Trump's office, Habberman reported the former president said, "Don't bother, I'm not going to concede."
Kushner himself resisted pushing Trump further towards concession because they were family.
"He's the grandfather of my children," Kushner told Barrack, according to Haberman's book.
Haberman wrote that Barrack told Trump he would create problems for his "post-White House" life if he continued denying the election results. He asked him to consider his business and "everything he had built over the decades."
But the president was "insistent" that he had won the election, according to Haberman, using the number of people who voted for him as evidence. "They're there for me," he said.
Barrack urged Trump to welcome Biden with open arms and take the "elegant" approach to his exit from office.
"You're elegant and I'm the president of the United States, so get out of my office," Trump replied, per Haberman.
The 607-page book, which was released Tuesday, includes three interviews with Trump himself as well as with his allies, ex-aides, and confidantes.