Back in May 2020, as protests swept the nation following the murder of George Floyd, Donald Trump famously hid in a White House bunker while demonstrators assembled outside the building.
That information was leaked by someone in his inner circle—and according to CNN, Trump told a group of advisors that whoever divulged his stay in the bunker was a traitor and should be executed. The report comes from the new book Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost from Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender.
Bender specifically writes about Trump reaming top military, law enforcement, and West Wing advisors during a meeting that took place days after the bunker incident. “Trump boiled over about the bunker story as soon as they arrived and shouted at them to smoke out whoever had leaked it,” Bender writes. “It was the most upset some aides had ever seen the president.”
Bender writes specifically that Trump wanted the leaker killed.“Whoever did that, they should be charged with treason!” Trump is said to have yelled. “They should be executed!”
Trump’s White House chief of staff, Matt Meadows, apparently attempted to “calm the president as startled aides avoided eye contact,” per Bender’s writing, with Meadows vowing to find out who leaked the info. Trump later became obsessed with finding out who the mole was, as did Meadows.
The former president sought refuge in the bunker for just under an hour before he was escorted out of it, according to Bender’s reporting. He later tried to minimize his trip to the bunker, saying it was an “inspection” instead of it being used as his safe haven from the protests.
