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Omarosa: I never signed that 'draconian' White House nondisclosure agreement - YouTube
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JUDY WOODRUFF: A racist, a bigot and a misogynist
-- those are just some of the explosive claims
[5]
made against President Trump by his long-time
associate and former White House advisor Omarosa
[10]
Manigault Newman in her new book, "Unhinged".
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Her relationship with the president began
in 2003 when she was a contestant on the first
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season of the reality TV show "The Apprentice".
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She joined the Trump campaign in 2016 as director
of African- American outreach and went on
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to become the highest ranking African-American
in the West Wing until she was fired last
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December.
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And Omarosa Manigault Newman joins us now.
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Thank you for being at the NEWSHOUR.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: So glad to be here
with you, Judy.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: So, you have gotten the president's
attention today and yesterday.
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He has come out with a string of comments
calling you low life, I’m quoting, wacky,
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that he rarely saw you.
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He heard were you nasty to people, that you
constantly missed work.
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White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
says you lack character and integrity and
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the book is riddled with lies.
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And you are trying to profit off of him.
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(LAUGHTER)
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: It's fascinating
that the book isn't even out, so she hasn't
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read it.
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So she wouldn't know what’s in the book.
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But moreover, I think that it’s interesting
that he also insults a lot of African-Americans
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with those same types of slurs and words.
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But that’s the way he is, unfortunately.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: But after all of those years
of knowing him, surprised that he would come
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down so hard on you.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Yes, some what.
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Because we had a very close relationship,
as you stated at the open.
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I met him in 2003, I was still in my 20s.
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And I wanted to be like him.
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I grew up in poverty, so I thought I want
to be a billionaire one day.
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I’ll go and work for Donald Trump.
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I’ll go try to be on "The Apprentice" and
be successful.
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But 15 years later, I never would imagine
that he as the president of the United States
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would call me a low life.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: What about what Sarah Sanders
is saying?
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I mean, these are very strong words coming
from her?
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Do you -- do you think she is misled or is
she purposefully deceiving because the president
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is asking her to?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I think that she
is taking guidance from him.
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I mean, she says whatever he tells her to
say.
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And I would hope that she would kind of reconsider
that position because she is compromising
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herself every single day that she lies from
the podium to the American people.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, let's take some of the
charges you made one by one.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Sure.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: You’re calling the president
a racist.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Uh-huh.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: We know there have been a number
of statements from Donald Trump over the years
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calling judges Mexicans, who are of Mexican
heritage, the years that he spent challenging
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President Obama about where he was born, those
things that you -- you were involved with
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the president.
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You were working with him, near him, close
to him during all that time.
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Those things didn't bother you enough to cause
you to separate yourself from him?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Well, that’s one
of the most dramatic scenes in "Unhinged"
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where I talk about taking him to task for
the birther movement.
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And he just kind of wrote it off as kind of
political hyperbole and he said it's par for
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the course when you’re in politics.
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And I want it to be clear that in some ways,
I was very complicit by going into this White
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House and continuing some of those misconceptions
and that lie that he continued to tell.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: But you believed his explanation?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I did, because I
had a blind spot where it came to Donald Trump.
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We were very close.
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And if he said it, in some ways, I believed
it.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, you know, just following
up on that, even when, after he was president,
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the Charlottesville incident, the comment
that they're talking about both sides bear
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blame, you write in the book about being troubled
by that but not enough to do anything about
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it.
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You went on television and defended him.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Yes, I was asked
by the president to go on television and defend
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him because there weren't many people from
the administration that would.
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And it was before he equivocated both sides,
good people on both sides, it would be a day
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or two later after that interview that I gave
that he said those things.
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And so, of course, hindsight is 20/20, but
when we look at the one year anniversary of
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Charlottesville, I was just completely aggrieved,
particularly over the weekend thinking about
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Heather Heyer, the young woman who lost her
life because in some ways, this administration
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refused to act because there was a Democratic
governor and he said, just let them deal with
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it, they will get this situation under control.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: But a number of people are
saying, why didn't you do something at the
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time it happened?
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At the time he made that statement?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Yes, I described
very clearly what I did, and how I reacted
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and responded.
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And as the only African-American voice, as
loud as I screamed, there were 29 others who
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had a different opinion as to how we should
approach Charlottesville.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, speaking of being the
only African-American voice, the former chairman
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of the Republican National Committee, Michael
Steele, said yesterday that he was among the
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group of people who put together a list of
highly qualified African-American Republicans
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who worked in previous White Houses who were
prepared to go to work for Donald Trump, but
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that you blocked any of them from having a
job opportunity.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I find that fascinating
because in one hand, they say that I didn't
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have any power.
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I wasn't effective.
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I couldn't influence what happened in the
White House.
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And then on the other hand, they said I have
the ability to keep a long list of people
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out of the White House.
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You really can't have it both ways.
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In fact, he submitted that list during the
transition.
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I wasn't in the White House yet.
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I wasn't making decisions.
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So, that really actually undermines Reince
Priebus’ ability to actually put together
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an effective administration, not me.
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I wasn't the head of presidential personnel
in the White House.
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And so, that assertion is kind of absurd when
you think about it.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Women, the president's views
of women.
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You write a number of disturbing things throughout
the book, misogynistic things.
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But again, you write you had a blind spot.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I did.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Time after time after time.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I did.
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I also write about being a part --
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WOODRUFF: You seem very calm about it now
but --
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MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Well, because you know,
I also write about being a part of what I
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call the Trump world cult, it's a cult of
personality and I was caught up in it.
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And I --
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Is it being brainwashed?
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I mean, what is it?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I think when you’re
a part of a cult, you don't realize that what
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you’re doing is completely against the grain
and it’s undermining the very fabric of
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our democracy.
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I had no idea that supporting Donald Trump
and the way that I was, was causing so much
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damage until I was on the outside and I had
a good way to take a view of what was happening.
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But I accept full responsibility for what
I did and I have great regret for that.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: But is it -- again, looking
at it from the outside, it looks as if you’re
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a woman of intelligence, a woman who could
make her own decisions, but it's almost as
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if you were -- you’re saying you were blindly
following instructions.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I was, I was.
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You know, I lost my father, I talk about this
in the first two chapters.
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My father was murdered when I was seven.
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And so, in some ways, I was looking for a
father figure, and I found that in Donald
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Trump.
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Here was a very successful billionaire, a
real estate mogul, and I wanted to model myself
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after him.
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I was aspirational in a sense of looking at
his success.
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So yes, I followed after some of the tenets
that he outlined in so many of his successful
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books and some of the things that he enforced
to be successful.
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But I was going down the wrong path following
Donald Trump.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: You write, this has gotten
a lot of comment, about what you describe
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as the president's mental decline.
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Setting aside questions about whether you’re
qualified to make that assessment, what are
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some specific examples of the difference in
Donald Trump that you knew when you first
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met him in the early 2000s and recently?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Well, we would sit
in the board room, and our board rooms on
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"The Apprentice" would be four or five hours
long.
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And Donald Trump was sharp, he was very perceptive.
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He was engaging.
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He had this expansive vocabulary, and he very
seldom took breaks.
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I mean, he could about four and five hours
without blinking.
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Fast forward to 2017 and we're in the White
House and Donald Trump couldn't remember basic
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words or phrases.
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He couldn't read the legislation that was
put in front of him.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: How do you know this?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Because I was in
the room, in the Oval Office trying to brief
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him, for instance, when we were getting ready
to pass the executive order for HBCUs, for
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instance, or briefing him for that famous
listening session where he thought Frederick
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Douglass was still alive.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Historically black colleges
and universities.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Historically black
colleges and universities.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: But how do you know-- I mean,
were you there with him --
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(CROSSTALK)
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I’m not a doctor.
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I’m not a doctor.
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I can only assess that Donald Trump that I
knew in 2003, and the Donald Trump that I
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knew in 2017.
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And he is not the same man.
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In the morning, he would say one thing, by
the afternoon, he was contradicting himself,
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and he wouldn't remember that he said the
first thing.
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Just recently, he encouraged Republicans to
pass an immigration bill, a fair immigration
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bill and the next day, he said he never said
to pass an immigration bill.
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I don't believe that that’s just him lying.
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I really do believe that he has some sort
of mental impairment and decline.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: You also say, Omarosa Manigault,
that you saw a lot of corruption in the White
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House.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Oh, yes.
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JUSY WOODRUFF: Can you give us one specific
example?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: One of the biggest
examples is this NDA that they came us to
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with and said that we couldn't talk about
certain things that we saw.
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They wanted us to sign it, and they wanted
to use that to kind of put fear in us that
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if we saw things to not blow the whistle,
for instance, on things that we saw.
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And they demanded that every one sign that.
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They didn't allow us to take it to lawyers
to review.
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They wouldn't even allow us to email it, particularly
to my lawyer.
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They said I had to sign it in the room right
there, then and there.
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And I thought that that certainly was unethical
if not illegal.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: But the president tweeted that
you signed a nondisclosure agreement.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: He’s absolutely
right.
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I signed a nondisclosure agreement back in
2003 for "The Apprentice".
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I also signed one for the campaign.
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I never signed that draconian NDA that they
presented to me when I walked into the White
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House because I knew from my prior time in
the White House.
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This was my second tour of duty working in
the White House.
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I worked for the Clintons prior, that this
was not something that was acceptable.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: But again, you say a lot of
corruption in the White House.
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What are you referring to?
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And if -- I mean, do you have evidence you’re
going to bring to the authorities?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Absolutely.
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But I will reserve that for the authorities.
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I will not have an opportunity to tell you
the expanse of corruption that I observed
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while I was there.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: But powerful --
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(CROSSTALK)
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Not in the court
of public opinion but in the court of law
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because it’s very, very serious.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: So, you’re going -- you’ve
hired -- you’re going to hire --
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I have a very, very
incredible, capable legal team, which is why
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I speak so strongly and assertively about
the things that I’ve seen and the things
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that I intend to share with the American people
in coming days.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: You in that light, you close
out the book by writing: Rest assured there’s
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an army of people who oppose President Trump
and his policies.
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They are working silently and tirelessly to
make sure he does not cause harm to the republic.
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Many are in his party, his administration
and even in his own family.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Uh-huh.
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WOODRUFF: Can you say who they are?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I prefer not.
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I think that it’s important that as they
continue to do their work to make sure that
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further damage to this country is not done,
that they do that without being exposed.
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And I’m very proud of the people who working
behind the scenes to make sure Donald Trump
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is not allowed to continue to lead this country
in an unfit manner.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: You can't identify.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I would not ever
--
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JUDY WOODRUFF: The first lady?
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Anyone?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: -- compromise them
in this way because they are working tirelessly
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to just really make sure that this country
isn't damaged further.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Have you heard from people
in the White House since you went public about
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the book?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Oh yes.
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I’ve heard the threats, the veiled threats,
the very explicit threats.
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I’ve heard about the damaging that they
have done and destroying of my personal property
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that they never returned to me in December.
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I’ve been waiting for them to return it,
but they decided not to after I did not sign
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that $15,000 a month agreement to go work
in a fake job in the campaign.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: They seem determined to shut
you done in some way.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Oh yes.
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They do want to stop me.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you believe they will?
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: They won't be successful
because, one, I have the truth on my side,
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but I have a significant amount, in fact,
a treasure trove of multimedia backup for
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everything that is not only in "Unhinged"
but everything that I assert about Donald
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Trump.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Omarosa Manigault Newman, the
book is "Unhinged: An Insider’s Account
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of the Trump White House".
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: And you are in the
book, Judy.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: From -- when we worked at CNN
briefly.
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Thank you very much.
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OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Thank you.
[748]
Thanks for having me.
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