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Working on the second floor of the West Wing allowed aides to avoid dealing with President Donald Trump because he never walked up the stairs to get to the upper floor, a forthcoming book by author Michael Wolff said.

Wolff wrote that working out of the second-floor office, as Trump advisors Kellyanne Conway and Stephen Miller opted to do, "meant a degree of exclusion but also protection" because "Trump would never climb the stairs (and, by the end of his term, he never had)."

An excerpt of Wolff's book "Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency" published in New York Magazine on Monday shed more light on the confusion among Trump and his hollowed-out circle of aides as the January 6 insurrection unfolded.

Read more: How Trump could use his relationship with Putin and Russia to skirt prosecution back in the USA

The unlikelihood of Trump climbing those stairs was first reported by The Washington Post in January 2017, during the early days of the Trump administration.

"Though Conway took over the workspace previously occupied by Valerie Jarrett, who had been Obama's closest adviser, the confidant dismissively predicted that Trump would rarely climb a flight of stairs," The Post said at the time.

In April, Trump lodged a rare defense of President Joe Biden after he took a tumble on the stairs of Air Force One while leaving Joint Base Andrews in March. Trump defended Biden against criticisms that he is too old, and compared Biden's plane stumble to when he struggled to walk down a ramp at West Point in June 2020.

"I know that if it were me, they would be up and down, going crazy," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "I had an instance where on a slippery, slippery ramp, a piece of steel, very steep and very long railings ... and it was pouring at West Point." He added, "The last thing I want to do is go down because when Gerald Ford went down and it was not good."

"Landslide" is scheduled to be published by Henry Holt & Co. on July 27.

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Trump never climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor of the White House's office, new book says - Business Insider

It makes it difficult to openly start campaigning as [Trump] at least contemplates running again, said Saul Anuzis, former chair of the Republican Party of Michigan, cautioning its still early in the election cycle. It keeps activists on the sidelines.

DeSantis, who has the benefit of claiming hes just running for reelection, continues to gain accolades for opening up Florida during the coronavirus pandemic sooner than most large states. His frequent appearances on Fox News put him in the national spotlight almost nightly. Last weekend, DeSantis beat Trump 74-71 in the annual Western Conservative Summits straw poll in Denver results that surprised even organizers of the summit. Last year, Trump won the same straw poll with nearly 95 percent support.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis arrives to speak at a press conference. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The governors backers say he is aware of the dangers of appearing to rise too quickly. One Republican consultant close to the governor, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about DeSantis and Trump, said the governor is very wary of eliciting the former presidents rage.

He will take measures so that Trump wont get mad at him, but believe me, the more successful you are, with Trump, sometimes makes it worse, the consultant said. Its a weird spot to be in for sure.

Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign-style rally on July 3 in Sarasota, Fla., one of a series of public events aimed at boosting the former presidents standing ahead of a possible 2024 presidential run. A Trump official planning the Florida rally told POLITICO that DeSantis team was contacted about the rally, but the governors office did not return a request seeking comment about whether or not he will be attending.

Trump remains the leader of the Republican Party, commanding loyalty from members and remaining active in congressional and statewide races as he weighs a 2024 comeback. But at 42, DeSantis represents a young, fresh face who presses similar conservative policies but with arguably more discipline than the former president. DeSantis has even started getting help from well-known Trumpworld figures, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who joined the governor on a west coast fundraising swing that included stops in Las Vegas and Southern California.

But the biggest question remains whether DeSantis will outshine the former president, and if that will in turn provoke Trump. The former president in April both took credit for DeSantis political ascension and seemed to tamp down the governors 2024 dreams when he told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that hes considering DeSantis as his 2024 running mate.

Hes a friend of mine. I endorsed Ron, and after I endorsed him, he took off like a rocket ship, Trump said. A lot of people like that you know, Im just saying what I read and what you read they love that ticket certainly, Ron would be considered. Hes a great guy.

Meadows told the Washington Examiner in an interview published earlier this week that he doesnt expect DeSantis to challenge Trump if the former president officially entered the race.

That being said, Gov. DeSantis wont even hes asked over and over and over again every time Im in his presence hes been asked, Are you running in 2024? said Meadows, who now works for the Washington-based Conservative Partnership Institute, a group DeSantis met with on Wednesday afternoon, according to a schedule released by his office.

Others within Trumps orbit also downplay DeSantis national ambitions, saying that he is focused on his 2022 reelection as governor.

Ron DeSantis is not focusing on the ups and downs of 2024, he is focused on making the state of Florida successful, said David Bossie, head of Citizens United and a former Trump deputy campaign manager. That means solely focusing on his re-election in 2022. He is not getting sidetracked by the chattering class.

Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, one of the GOP-led Legislature's biggest Trump backers, said the former presidents influence over the early 2024 jockeying has set up a clandestine presidential campaign process.

The reality is, right now, everyone has to run these kinds of secret, or indirect, presidential campaigns, Sabatini said. Of those trying it, I do think DeSantis has done the best job.

Photo by Pool/Getty Images

Many in Florida politics point to the irony of the situation. Trump is largely responsible for lifting DeSantis profile and helping him secure the governorship three years ago. Trumps 2018 primary endorsement helped DeSantis beat former Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, himself a former congressman who was supported by Floridas entire Republican political establishment and a heavy favorite at the outset of the race. As governor, DeSantis has consistently pushed legislation that appeals to the conservative base and Trump, including a measure aimed at reigning in Big Tech and a bill that restricts some voting access in the state.

The two men, however, couldnt be more different. Trump, a billionaire, has been a staple of reality television and tabloids for years and promotes himself has one of the worlds most successful businessmen while DeSantis is a civil servant whose only source of income is his $134,000 annual taxpayer funded salary.

Others, however, see Trumps position possibly weakening as much of the nation moves beyond his presidency.

Donald Trump was not as strong in his position as he was last year, which is getting a lot of attention and a lot of news organizations covering us, said Jeff Hunt, vice president of Public Policy at Colorado Christian University who also helped organize last weeks Western Conservative Summit in Denver which featured the straw poll DeSantis won. Its very clear Trump has strong control among grassroots conservatives, but what people are looking for is Trump presidency policies but with a fresh face, and Ron has done a good job doing things like going toe-to-toe with the media, and grassroots conservative appreciate that.

I think they are looking for that next step and that next generation, he added.

Meridith McGraw contributed to this story.

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DeSantis very wary of upsetting Trump - POLITICO

A number of supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory are claiming that Donald Trump can be seen in the reflection of a window in a photo posted on the POTUS Instagram page showing President Joe Biden inside the Oval Office.

Influential advocates of the radical movement with large followings on messaging service Telegram shared the Instagram picture showing Biden on the phone to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer while urging people to look at the figure whose back can be seen in the window reflection.

"Did you see who's in the reflection?," QAnon Telegram account We The Pepe, which has more than 75,000 followers, wrote. "Go see for yourself."

MelQ, another major QAnon figure on Telegram with 140,000 followers, told people to look at the reflection after sharing a similar post from another account with more than 88,000 subscribers on the app.

The posts were met with hundreds of replies agreeing that the person seen is somehow Trump, a savior-like figure for QAnon supporters who they believe will be reinstated as president. Others said the photo is probably an edited image from Trump's time in the White House.

"Proof that patriots are running the show. Doctored up an old photo of Trump, inserted Biden, left the reflection of Trump in the window to tie to Q post," Telegram user MySearchfor Truth wrote.

Another user said: "Did they just photoshop mumbles Biden into a picture that was taken while DJT was in office. Asking for my fren [friend] that questions everything."

Telegram user Barbara Limandri added: "That ain't Biden's head/shoulders. That's DJT...rightful POTUS!!"

As is usually the case with many of their claims, the popular QAnon advocates pointed to old posts from their mysterious leader known as "Q" to justify their latest conspiracy.

The QAnon conspiracy emerged as people began decoding cryptic messages that emerged on controversial messageboard site 4chan in October 2017. The posts claimed to be from a government official with access to top security clearance. The first post suggested that Hillary Clinton would soon be arrested, a prediction that never came to fruition.

Over the next few years, thousands of the cryptic messages were posted on 4chan, before moving to similar messageboard sites 8chan and 8kun, which were deciphered by QAnon supporters to form the basis of movement's beliefs, including that there exists a secret cabal of satanic pedophiles that leading Democrat figures are part of.

However, the frequency of these messages drastically slowed down after Trump lost the election in November, with there being no new post from "Q" since December 8. The final message on 8kun is merely a YouTube link to a pro-Trump video containing Twisted Sister's song "We're Not Gonna Take It."

It is also alleged that the mysterious figure who has been writing the posts on 8kun was not a high-ranking government official, but Ron Watkins, the site's former administrator, which he has frequently denied.

The lack of new posts hasn't deterred QAnon, whose followers now merely decipher the catalogue of thousands of existing messages as a form of confirmation bias to justify their beliefs and suggest any world event was actually long predicted by Q.

In this case, Trump appearing in a reflection of an Oval Office was foretold by Q posts from March 2019 which state: "Find the Reflection inside the castle" and "reflections are important."

Read more from the original source:
QAnon Followers Think They See Donald Trump in White House Window Reflection - Newsweek

Don Peay is no stranger to controversy and negotiating his way around differences of opinion.

As founder of the powerful Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife lobbying organization, hes gone the rounds with bureaucrats and politicians for most of the past 30 years, fighting for wildlife habitat, conservation and the rights of hunters and fishermen.

Other groups hes started or been affiliated with, such as the nonprofit Big Game Forever and Hunt Expo, have definitely called for sharp elbows.

And then theres his more recent affiliation with a certain politician.

Peay was Donald Trumps Utah campaign manager when he was elected in 2016, and an avowed supporter throughout the Trump presidency. He became an adjunct part of the administration when he was named to the national Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation Council by Trumps Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.

But of course all that came to a crashing halt once the Bidens were in and the Trumps were out.

So whats he doing to decompress from Trump life?

Taking care of veterans, as it turns out.

Peay and his wife, Susan, were the main organizers of an event called Bonfire that took place earlier this week at a venue in Hobble Creek Canyon. Hundreds of people turned out to support a charity called Best Defense and honor dozens of veterans, including a number of Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, who were special guests at the affair.

The Best Defense Foundation was started in 2018 by retired NFL linebacker Donnie Edwards, who spent 13 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. Edwards and Peay brought in other former NFL players, including the legendary Bo Jackson and Utahns Jim McMahon and Haloti Ngata, all of whom spoke at the event. Country music singer Craig Morgan, himself an Army vet, performed for the crowd and 97-year-old World War II veteran Jack Foy, who fought alongside Patton, rounded out the speakers.

Because the only compensation any of the headliners required or received was airfare, an estimated $150,000 was raised in the one-night event. Plans are already underway for a similar fundraiser in 2022.

Peays affection for the military traces back to his father, Edward, who was a colonel in the Utah National Guard.

If I have one regret its that I didnt pursue going to one of the military academies, said Peay, 61, who grew up during Vietnam and did not serve in the military. This is our familys way of giving back to veterans who actually did.

I take great strength from being around these warriors, he continued. This is some payback to people who at a moments notice will jump into a firefight that they know can cost them their life. This puts our lives into perspective. If we think weve had a hard day, these guys have had hard days, day after day after day. Whatever we have to deal with is nothing compared to what theyve been through.

Which brings us back to Peays experience being on the front lines with Donald Trump, through good times and bad.

Actively supporting such a polarizing politician took a toll and left a mark, he freely confesses.

It got very personal at times. Our children were attacked, a family member was fired supposedly because of my affiliation. But thats a small price to pay for standing for what you believe.

If he had it to do it all over again, Id fight even harder.

I loved Trumps policies, including dollar-seventy-five gas, he said. But we know his tone and his getting down in the weeds and fighting over stupid stuff in the internet hurt him.

But that was then and this is now, and hes taking a hiatus from even thinking about all of that. This fall he has plans to take some of the veterans who were honored this week on hunting trips, and really get away from it all.

I find real peace dealing with veterans, he said. I feel like Im on vacation. Its a nice break from the trench warfare of politics.

Does that mean hes retiring?

Ill always be involved in issues related to wildlife, he said. But the rest of it? Yeah, you could say Im officially retired for a while.

Link:
From Trump to vets: Its a nice break from trench warfare of politics - Deseret News

Caitlyn Jenner, running for governor in Californias expected recall election, once again took to a national platform to promote her campaign, when she appeared on ABCs The View.

One of the questions she faced came from Joy Behar, who asked her about the unfounded view of a significant share of Republicans that Donald Trump actually won the election, not Joe Biden.

Are you one of those people, one of those Republicans? Behar asked.

Jenner responded, I am not going to get into that. That election is over with. I think that Donald Trump did do some good things. What I liked about Donald Trump was that he was a disrupter.

Then Behar interrupted, But did he win? Did he win the election?

Jenner then continued, I want to go in and be a thoughtful disrupter in Sacramento. We need to change the system, and I want to change the system for the positive.

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Then Whoopi Goldberg ended the segment because time ran out.

During the segment, Jenner criticized Gov. Gavin Newsoms handling of the coronavirus pandemic, among other issues, but Behars question was triggered by polls showing a significant share of Republicans back Trumps claim that the election was stolen from him, even though courts have rejected dozens of election challenges.

Jenner also sidestepped a question about transgender athletes in student sports. Previously, she has said she opposed transgender girls playing on girls teams. When asked on The View, she called it a very small issue in the state of California.

We have so many bigger issues in this state like immigration, she said.

She said that she would be tough on immigrants and finish the border wall and do the best job that we can do in protecting our eastern front. It was unclear what Jenner was referring to, as Californias eastern border is shared with Nevada and Arizona.

Immigration in this state has been such a burden on taxpayers, on homes and businesses, she said.

Jenners campaign was launched in April, and she reportedly got help and advice from Brad Parscale, Trumps former campaign manager. Sunny Hostin asked Jenner about working with Parscale and another figure, GOP fundraiser Caroline Wren. ProPublica reported on Wrens role in helping to plan to Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse in Washington that preceded the siege on the Capitol.

I wanted to put the best group of people, as you would call it, insiders, for a political campaign, Jenner said. I was able to hire some of the best people out there to join campaign. And it is more than just Brad or Caroline. There is a whole host of people that have worked with me over the past few months. I feel like I have a good team around me that can lead me to victory.

Watch a portion of the interview above.

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Caitlyn Jenner, In Guest Spot On The View, Refuses To Say Whether Donald Trump Won Or Lost Election - Deadline