Former President Donald Trump reportedly turned the White House into an arm of his political campaign, with a “MAGA” gift shop right next to the oval office, according to the upcoming book “This Will Not Pass” by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns.
The strange room was filled with MAGA merchandise to give to visitors, even at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
“They literally hand you a shopping bag, and you took anything you’d like,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) was quoted as saying, according to an excerpt of the book reviewed by The Hill.
According to the report, Murphy was visiting the White House in 2020 ― early in the pandemic ― when Trump showed him the MAGA gift shop adjoining the Oval Office.
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The book also details the extent to which Trump expected governors who wanted help with the pandemic to give him something in return, or be submissive to him.
According to an excerpt reviewed by SF Gate, Trump told governors, “There’s something you want to ask me about FEMA? Well, ask me nicely.”
The book also states that “Trump was most interested in helping people he got along with, and regions of the country he saw as Trump country.”
