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The call, meant to be a simple formality, quickly turned into a moment of confusion and frustration for Harris’ team. According to Whipple, one aide was so stunned by the President’s warm tone that they nearly had an emotional meltdown. “I was like, what?” the anonymous aide said. “Honestly, I felt like, what is this? It’s so manipulative. He’s a sociopath.”
The very notion that Trump—painted for years by Democrats and their allies in the media as a tyrant—could be polite in victory was apparently too much for them to process. Instead of appreciating the gesture, Harris’ staffers interpreted it as “odd and inappropriate,” revealing just how deeply entrenched their animosity had become.
And it almost didn’t happen at all.
The concession call came dangerously close to falling apart due to technical issues. According to Whipple, attempts to connect Trump and Harris directly over the phone were unsuccessful. Harris’ campaign Chief of Staff Sheila Nix and her White House Chief of Staff Lorraine Voles had to resort to an old-fashioned workaround. Voles called Harris on her phone, and Nix physically pressed the two phones together so both sides could speak.
Whipple described Harris’ emotional state upon hearing Trump’s voice as devastated. The author writes that she “felt the weight of the crushing defeat” as the reality of the election outcome sank in.
While this phone call revealed a rarely-seen, diplomatic side of Trump, it also highlighted the deep resentment and confusion on the Democrat side. Instead of taking the high road themselves, Harris’ aides questioned Trump’s motives and labeled his civility as manipulative.
Adding fuel to the fire, the book’s revelations don’t stop with the phone call. In another excerpt published by The Guardian, it was revealed that President Biden’s debate team had growing concerns about his mental sharpness in the lead-up to the critical June debate. Biden’s longtime aide Ron Klain admitted the President appeared disengaged and “aloof,” even dozing off during prep sessions near a pool.
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Worse yet, Biden allegedly believed that simply staring wide-eyed while Trump spoke would be enough to make voters think “Trump is an idiot.”
Taken together, these new details paint a troubling picture for Democrats. While Trump showed poise and restraint in an unexpected moment of unity, Harris’ camp spiraled into emotional chaos. Meanwhile, Biden’s handlers were scrambling behind the scenes to manage a commander-in-chief they clearly knew was struggling.
Chris Whipple’s Uncharted is set to hit bookshelves Tuesday, and if these early excerpts are any indication, there’s far more dirt waiting to be unearthed. Stay tuned.
