“The Family Is Worried Brad Will Start Talking”: Trumpworld Panics Over Debate Fiasco as Campaign Turmoil Mounts

Authored by vanityfair.com and submitted by Eurynom0s
image for “The Family Is Worried Brad Will Start Talking”: Trumpworld Panics Over Debate Fiasco as Campaign Turmoil Mounts

Donald Trump’s campaign is still assessing the political damage from Tuesday night’s chaotic first presidential debate. The president’s refusal to condemn white supremacists, of course, is the immediate crisis. “He blew that for sure,” a campaign adviser told me. “It’s nuts,” a former West Wing official said wearily, sounding like a storm survivor with PTSD. “Total lunacy,” said another former White House staffer, who remains close to the campaign. “Trump didn’t win over any voters, and he pissed off a lot of people,” added a prominent Republican.

Trump advisers agree on what he needs to do differently at the next debate. “He has to just relax and let Joe Biden speak,” said the ex-official, who remains close to the White House. But Republicans are resigned to the fact that Trump is unlikely––or unwilling––to course-correct. “Trump thinks he won. He didn’t,” said another Republican with ties to the campaign. “But does anyone have the balls to tell him that? No. They’d be fired.”

Trump doesn’t accept the consensus that the debate was a disaster because, sources said, he was unabashedly himself. “The thing about the debate is people got to see why no one that has any integrity can work for Trump. This is what Trump is like in the Oval Office every day. It’s why [John] Kelly left. It’s why [Jim] Mattis quit,” said the prominent Republican. “Trump doesn’t let anyone else speak. He really doesn’t care what you have to say. He demeans people. He talks over them. And everyone around him thinks it’s getting worse.”

Inside Trumpworld there’s a view that the past week is an inflection point in the campaign. It started on Sunday night with the bombshell New York Times report that Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. “For Trump the Times story was worse than losing reelection,” said the second Republican. “If you had told Donald back in 2015 that his tax returns would be exposed and he’d have all these investigations, I guarantee you he wouldn’t have run.”

As the Times story lit up cable news and Twitter, news broke that Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale had been taken into custody outside his Ft. Lauderdale home and hospitalized after threatening to commit suicide and allegedly beating his wife days prior. Police body camera footage showing an officer brutally tackling a shirtless, 6’8” Parscale to the pavement instantly became a visual metaphor for the chaos engulfing the Trump campaign. One campaign adviser I spoke with was shocked by the amount of force the police used to subdue and cuff Parscale. “If Brad had been Black, there would be riots all over the country,” the source said. (In fact, police have killed unarmed Black men in far less hostile situations.)

Parscale’s public meltdown happened while he is reportedly under investigation for stealing from the Trump campaign and the RNC. According to the source close to the campaign, the Trump family is worried that Parscale could turn on them and cooperate with law enforcement about possible campaign finance violations. “The family is worried Brad will start talking,” the source said.

In response the Trump campaign’s communications director, Tim Murtaugh, said: “It’s utterly false. There is no investigation, no audit, and there never was.”

More Great Stories From Vanity Fair

— How Gabby Giffords Survived a Shot to the Head, and Outsmarted the NRA

— Michael Cohen’s Daughter Reflects On His Time With the President

— How Jared Kushner Let the Markets Decide America’s COVID-19 Fate

— Donald Trump Goes Full Dictator, Vows to Stay in Office Regardless of Election Results

— An Ex-Republican Strategist Surveys the Wreckage of Trump’s GOP

— How Everyone Is Quietly Lining Trump’s Pockets

— As Election Approaches, Trump Fears Fox News Is Going Rogue

— From the Archive: The Trump Kids Are Bound by Their Desire to Cash In

— Not a subscriber? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.

Dano-D on September 30th, 2020 at 20:51 UTC »

“Trump thinks he won. He didn’t,” said another Republican with ties to the campaign. “But does anyone have the balls to tell him that? No. They’d be fired.”

Trump doesn’t accept the consensus that the debate was a disaster because, sources said, he was unabashedly himself. “The thing about the debate is people got to see why no one that has any integrity can work for Trump. This is what Trump is like in the Oval Office every day. It’s why [John] Kelly left. It’s why [Jim] Mattis quit,” said the prominent Republican. “Trump doesn’t let anyone else speak. He really doesn’t care what you have to say. He demeans people. He talks over them. And everyone around him thinks it’s getting worse.”

Lol. My God. It must be a mad house in there.

sanantoniosaucier on September 30th, 2020 at 20:49 UTC »

Let's just get this out of the way - Brad Parsacle embezzled millions of dollars from the Trump campaign and Trump is terrified because Brad did it at Trumps behest and with the Trump family getting a cut.

DuvalHeart on September 30th, 2020 at 20:46 UTC »

Parscale’s public meltdown happened while he is reportedly under investigation for stealing from the Trump campaign and the RNC. According to the source close to the campaign, the Trump family is worried that Parscale could turn on them and cooperate with law enforcement about possible campaign finance violations. “The family is worried Brad will start talking,” the source said.

So Parscale is supposed to be the fall guy and they're worried that he won't be willing to take the fall and will reveal the Trump Crime Family's illegal behavior.