The book paints a picture of a president who increasingly settled into life inside the executive residence, claiming he customized his living quarters and kept longtime aide Walt Nauta close with everyday personal items.
“Trump had every comfort close at hand,” the authors wrote, alleging Nauta routinely carried “makeup, hairspray, Tic Tacs” and even scissors so Trump could trim hair that was “getting too long in the back.”
Haberman and Swan also claim that Trump’s sleep schedule became increasingly erratic.
“He had never been a big sleeper, but now it seemed to his staff that he was sleeping even less, keeping stranger hours than he had in his first term,” they wrote.
The authors added: “But occasionally, aides couldn’t reach him during the hours between eight and ten, which they soon came to realize meant he had stayed up all night, on the phone or watching television or both, only to finally catch some sleep around four or five in the morning.”
According to the book, “One late morning, when no one had heard from the President, and staff had been unable to reach him, an aide checked on the President only to find that he was still asleep in the residence.”
Responding to the book’s allegations, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle defended the president, telling the outlet: “President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration when Democrats and the legacy media intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people.”
He added, “President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises.”