After losing the 2020 election, Donald Trump continued to behave as if he were still president, according to Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh. Appearing on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” on Tuesday night, Setoodeh discussed his encounters with Trump, particularly one post-2020 election interview at Trump Tower in New York City.
He shared insights from his book, Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass. “We watched clips of the show together,” Setoodeh said, describing an interview where they viewed episodes of Trump’s hit TV show “The Apprentice.” “We watched the theme song, he really lit up. He watched firing — the first firing of Omarosa [Manigault Newman].” According to Setoodeh, Trump became visibly upset when the topic of the presidency arose.
“He would talk about what he did at the White House and he would become gloomy and resentful and unhappy and refer to Afghanistan and Joe Biden,” Setoodeh recounted. He noted that Trump seemed to believe he still wielded foreign policy power despite no longer being in office.
“He also seemed to think that he still had some foreign policy powers,” Setoodeh stated. “And there’s one day where he told me he needed to go upstairs to deal with ‘Afghanistan’ – even though he clearly didn’t.” Kaitlan Collins, the host, expressed her surprise.
“He told you that … while you were interviewing him at Trump Tower, he told you he needed to go upstairs to deal with Afghanistan,” she asked, seeking confirmation. “With quote, ‘Afghanistan’ is how he referred to it,” Setoodeh replied. Setoodeh conducted lengthy interviews with Trump in 2021 and 2023 for his book. The book has drawn criticism from the Trump campaign.
“President Trump was aware of who this individual was throughout the interview process, but this ‘writer’ is a nobody and insignificant so of course he never made an impression,” stated Trump 2024 communications director Steven Cheung. “After recognizing the importance of The Apprentice and its significant cultural impact on a global scale, this ‘writer’ has now chosen to allow Trump Derangement Syndrome to rot his brain like so many other losers whose entire existence revolves around President Trump.”
The insights provided by Setoodeh paint a picture of a former president struggling to let go of his time in office, still clinging to the trappings of power even as a civilian. His book, Apprentice in Wonderland, promises to offer a deeper look into Trump’s post-presidency mindset and his enduring connection to his television roots.