"There Was No Plan. He Is Deranged"

[marmar]

“There Was No Plan. He Is Deranged”
During the reporting of his latest book on the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, “Fire and Fury" author Michael Wolff says he got an invitation to meet the former president at Mar-a-Lago. In an interview, he tells DER SPIEGEL what ensued.

Interview Conducted By Marc Pitzke
12.07.2021, 16.00


(Der Spiegel) "Let's sit in the garden,” says Michael Wolff. The 67-year-old journalist and author usually lives in New York City's Greenwich Village, in an old, book-filled townhouse. But today, he has invited DER SPIEGEL to the Hamptons, the wealthy enclave at the eastern tip of Long Island. Wolff owns a modest (by comparison) white colonial summer home here, hidden behind tall hedges.

Birds sing in the jasmine-scented air as Wolff serves fresh coffee and sits down at a wooden picnic table.

His books "Fire and Fury” (2018) and "Siege: Trump under Fire” (2019) were full of sensational insider gossip about Donald Trump, whom Wolff describes as more or less imbecilic, and the chaos in his White House. They set off a furor and were translated into dozens of languages. One of Wolff's most important sources was Steve Bannon, who was let go as Trump's chief advisor.

Wollf insists that he really wanted to write about something completely different next. Then Jan. 6 happened.

....(snip)....

DER SPIEGEL: With dangerous consequences, if you look at the events since the elections – he still doesn't acknowledge his loss.

Wolff: Completely. It's dangerous because he's in some other reality and manages to bring a good part of the country along with him. Even though there was not one single person in the White House, in his campaign, in his family, who took any of this seriously or who believed in any of this, you know? No one believed that he won the election. No one believed he could do anything to meaningfully disrupt the results of the election. No one believed it. No one, 100 percent no one believed that Joe Biden was not going to be the president on Jan. 20.

DER SPIEGEL: So, Jan. 6 was not an attempted cop?

Wolff: That's just political reporters trying to apply some logic to this. There is no logic to this. There was no plan. He is deranged. The guy can't get from the beginning of the sentence to the end of a sentence. Everybody knows there was no election fraud, except Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani. It's like they're on some other planet. ...........(more)

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/bestselling-author-michael-wolff-on-his-trump-exposes-there-was-no-plan-he-is-deranged-a-650ddf37-09f4-4cef-9c48-5e4082274cc7

[treestar]

1. Yes, I think it is just something they say

They don't believe it, but learned from Trump you can try to make it true by just insisting on it. They think their fellow Americans are stupid.

[Whiskeytide]

14. They don't "think" that. They found it out. n/t

[RVN VET71]

46. Exactly.

75,000,000 Americans voted for the orange lump of fecal excrescence after living through 4 years of his racist, fascist, arrogantly ignorant incompetence.

75,000,000! What the freak more evidence did these fucking yokels need after the ruining of American the 500,000 deaths, the kissing up to Putin -- Helsinki, for chrissakes! The answer is: there is no evidence that would convince fully half of our nation of Loser-45’s lack of patriotism and lack of any desire, let alone ability, to keep the country strong.

[Buckeyeblue]

56. To me that's the story no one talks about

How did Trump get so many votes? Granted, the deep red southern states broke for Trump with huge percentages. But still. A good percentage of our population is ok with democracy ending in this country as long as their weird social agenda moves forward. I've began to cut these people out of my life. I'm not going to cut off family but they are being kept more distant.

Part of me wants to be completely segregated from Trump voters. The further away from me that they stay, the better.

A couple of things to keep in mind. Trump barely won TX and NC. I think GA and AZ will be solidly purple.

I think voter suppression laws will backfire and hurt Republicans more.

Also the next rounds of Covid will really hit the far right wackos hard. And they only have themselves to blame.

[RVN VET71]

57. Your question is important:

How the hell did that fat, incontinent fascist get all those votes? I think there is, perhaps, an audit needed in those states Loser-45 “won" to determine if there was any massive voter fraud there. But, of course, the Dems -- probably correctly -- shy away from playing the same games as the GOP.

And I also agree with you that there is hope for a Democratic show of massive strength in 2022 in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona -- even with the racist voter suppression bills the GOP is ramrodding through in those states. (In some cases, because those bills will galvanize Democratic voters who are pissed off by the effort to prevent their vote and, of course, in other cases becausemay a lot of GOP supporters might stay home because of the obstructions the new laws make to their own ability to vote.)

But as for Covid-19: it will be said -- and probably already is being said -- that the surge in cases leading to hospitalization and deaths in Red states is due to Dr. Fauci and other “commies” introducing new, more powerful strains of the plague in those states to kill off their opponents. It is true, as you say, that these doltish ignorami have only themselves to blame. But when have you ever known a Republican to take responsibility for his or her own mess?

[Buckeyeblue]

58. I've thought from the start that I'd like to see Trump states audited

Especially Florida and Ohio. Seems like the polls for Florida were much closer. I can't help but wonder how the margin in Ohio was so much as well.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

31. Norman Vincent Peale.The Power of Positive Thinking was bastardized.

He went into that church at his father's insistence. I wonder if he either knew that he would turn PPT into a weapon against humanity.

Plus the teachings of Roy Cohn probably taught him to leave no trail of your crimes. Hence he has no email. And his plans may well be disguised as not being plans.

[Midnight Writer]

39. Yep.

[exboyfil]

2. They didn't really believe it was stolen

but they sure believed that they could disrupt the country and potentially take advantage of the chaos to continue with a Republican in the executive office. Lindell had the plan in his binder. What was the meeting with many of the principals before Jan. 6th about except executing this plan?

[Hugin]

3. Because there was no plan doesn't mean it wasn't an armed insurrection.

If that's the latest defense.

[PatSeg]

5. And Trump sure enjoyed watching it

on a big screen TV, seemingly approving of the violence in his name.

[Hugin]

6. Not even from the bunker...

Why is that?

Trump never has plans, only things he covets... With the primary desire not seeing his porcine butt in an orange jumpsuit.

[PatSeg]

43. Yes, he is spontaneous and reactionary

He thinks he is so brilliant that he can always just go with his gut and everything will turn out well for him. And if things don't go well, then of course, it is always someone else's fault, one of his enemies trying to take him down.

What a truly dangerous man.

[msfiddlestix]

12. Exactly. We know what happened as it played out before our very eyes and ears.

Wolf's analysis in this respect is highly dismissive of reality.

Put me in the "not interested in what Wolf wants to share" column.

I have yet to buy into any of his "tell all" gossip books, cuz I've never felt like what he said in interviews was actually authentic or unique other than what was typically publicly obvious.

[Haggard Celine]

22. I agree.

He's taking Trump's word that he didn't intend for those people to attack the Capitol. You can guess what I think that's worth.

[mopinko]

4. everybody else was covering their tracks.

chaos and crazy and stupid all in one place creates quite the cloud.

[stillcool]

7. No plan? People knew exactly where

to go, what was it 8 entrances they breached in record time? The right-wing organizations that paid the freight for those people to be there did that with no plan? The stand-down of every security agency in the area. No, no plan at all. Stopping Congress from counting electoral votes was pure happenstance. If the capital insurrectionists had fully achieved their goal Joe Biden would still be President. But would he be in the White House? All of that planning took a lot of people. It's like if something is wrong, totally illegal, it can't succeed. Who lives in that world?

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. He's saying no plan by Trump (or, in context, people in the White House)

That doesn't mean the Proud Boys and others organizing the invasion of the Capitol didn't have a plan.

[Ocelot II]

9. I think what Wolff was saying was that Trump himself had no plan

- because he never does. Clearly the Oaf Creepers and their ilk had a plan. Trump just blasted out his desire to remain president by any means necessary but his cult followers created the plan itself.

[hadEnuf]

34. Trump knowingly conveyed what he wanted to happen well before 1/6,

so it is no coincidence that it actually took place.

He didn't have to participate in the actual planning; he just gave the green flag to go ahead which is what he usually does and how he likes to do it.

[Ocelot II]

35. Exactly. He didn't organize it; he just let it be known that he wanted something to happen.

He isn't capable of planning or organizing a trip to McDonald's for a hamberder.

[NH Ethylene]

11. If there was a plan, somebody besides Trump conveyed it.

This I believe: "He is deranged. The guy can't get from the beginning of the sentence to the end of a sentence."

But several actors who had been manipulating him all along may have planned this, on behalf of Russia. Putin has been sowing discord like candy, and Jan. 6th was the climax. If it also happened to work to destabilize the US government, so much the better.

[lagomorph777]

10. That's half bullshit. True, they all knew Turd lost...

But they did all seriously intend to overthrow the government and overturn the election. They all plotted the (still ongoing) coup attempt in complete seriousness.

[colorado_ufo]

32. Absolutely agree!

He is NOT deranged, he is effin' MANIPULATIVE. He knows exactly what he is doing. Remember that he even told people in advance that January 6 was "going to be wild." He had a "birthday party" (or some excuse) tent set up with TV sets where he could watch everything, and went from TV to TV in delight and was said to be disappointed when everyone around him was not rejoicing as he was. Even at the request of Republicans, he refused to issue any request to the rioters to stop, even at the risk of his vice president's life. He COMPLIMENTED AND PRAISED the rioters when he finally told them to go home. This was PLANNED, and I cannot believe otherwise - no matter how many books are written or awards received. This all winds up just being a cover for TFG, especially if he gets indicted.

[Elessar Zappa]

42. Trump doesn't plan.

People around him do but Trump’s personality is composed of two elements: reaction and transaction. There’s nothing more to him. He’s a shell of a person.

[Skittles]

47. CORRECT

they ALL know he lost, but they need the pretense of "voter fraud" to SUPPRESS THE VOTE so only the "right people" vote with ease

[Strelnikov_]

13. Thanks, entertaining read.

Hopefully not confirmation bias, but what Wolff says about him tracks with as it appears. He is a clueless idiot, everything is about self-aggrandizement, cares about no one else.

The unspoken, though, is that the only way this creature could have attained the presidency is through a political party corrupted to it's core, "Hijacked By Outrage Politics" (sorry Adam, your and party created and nurtured outrage politics, and now has been swallowed by it).

[sarchasm]

15. KnR!!

... whilst reading DER SPIEGEL. This is getting good. Must remind myself to be careful around this skunk filled with the mist of schadenfreude.

[Whiskeytide]

16. Like EVERYTHING Тяцмр has done most ...

… of his life, he had no plan except to fling shit everywhere and then see how he might take advantage of the resulting chaos to get something he wanted.

I’ve believed since it happened that he was just winging Jan 6. He was winging his campaign in 2015. He was winging the transition after - much to his surprise - he narrowly won the election. He was winging his presidency. He winged every press conference and diplomatic meeting.

That doesn’t mean that those around him didn’t have a plan to use him like a tool. McConnell used him while he was in office. Putin and Kim used him to accomplish their foreign agendas. Numerous militant groups here in the US used him to advance their narratives.

But he has little strategic thought about it all - with the one notable exception that he IS pretty good at spotting a way to con people out of money. He was always a small time, NY con man until he went National and realized that 30% of the American people were unbelievably stupid, and could be fed unadulterated bull shit to get them to pay him and do things for him. He was a small time act that accidentally fell into the National stage, and then made it work for him.

[Cosmocat]

17. Yes and No - it was January 6 for a reason

Yes, he is a moron.

But, the date was January 6 for a reason, and he knew that.

He also told them he was going to join the walking to Congress - two things, he wasn't stupid enough to actually do it, but he did it clearly to further ensure they made the march there.

He knew the votes that were going to be made and that they were going to disrupt them, and likely do some seriously bad things to congressman, and his VP.

He knew all that and played his role to try to make it happen.

[Historic NY]

21. His golf cart wasn't there....

he'd never waddle that far

[Cosmocat]

52. HA!

Nor a line of incels on both sides throwing rose buds at his feet as he waddled along.

[chowder66]

29. Yep. He didn't do a thing to stop any of this. He fed them red meat, they got the scent of blood

and he in essence said "Sic em" all because he needed to feed his ego.

[bucolic_frolic]

18. It is Rethuglicans worshipping privilege and money and cutthroat capitalism

that wants the government and journalism out of the way. They just create chaos and grab for what they want.

[sir pball]

19. How...how has this not been blindingly obvious from Day 1?

[Historic NY]

20. I love Trump the bell hop does his business in the lobby of MarA Lara Ding dong.

DER SPIEGEL: Does he understand at this point that the attack by the right-wing mob happened in his name? What was your takeaway?

Wolff: Jan. 6 is still confusing to him. He asks, who were these people? He calls them "the great unwashed" He doesn't really acknowledge Jan. 6 as it related to him. He only wanted Vice President Mike Pence to reject the election results in Congress, so he could continue to be president.

[MiHale]

23. Trump may not be the sharpest tool in the shed...

But he’s sharp enough to do a lot of damage.

[calimary]

33. Indeed.

[lindysalsagal]

24. DER SPIEGEL: "Did you try to contradict his reality? Wolff: I went in and said, so you think the e

Wolff: I went in and said, so you think the election has been stolen?

OK, I'll accept that. Tell me how. Who stole it? Who were the bad guys here?

DER SPIEGEL: And what did he say?

Wolff: That question was never answered. It was just, I'll get you those names, but not now."

[struggle4progress]

25. "It wasn't any more successful or better planned than the Beer Hall Putsch!"

[Ilsa]

26. He doesn't need high level organizational skills to

determine he wants a coup and generally who to incite to get it.

It's weird with "deranged" people. My MIL with dementia might seem deranged at times, but she can sound lucid, telling you what she wants for breakfast in 30 minutes, even though it's dinnertime.

[twodogsbarking]

27. So is TFG still the lead Republican?

Would they admit he is or isn't?

Squirming in seats.

[dchill]

28. His next book: "More Stuff Professional Liars Told Me."

He can take that to the bank.

[Upthevibe]

30. Kick....n/t

[Javaman]

36. He's a grifter with through the roof narcissism.

aka not a long term planner, just a long term stirrer of the shit.

he stirs the shit to aid only him. then when things go bad, he gaslights or blames someone else.

always working the con, never admitting he failed or ever takes blame.

always running the angles and measuring the odds.

kind of like a person addicted to gambling .

he's been this way his whole miserable life. he knows no other way to be.

[Strelnikov_]

44. Yep.

A lot like the Lonesome Rhodes character in 'A Face in the Crowd'.

Thing is, when does his 'luck' run out. It has to at some point.

[Javaman]

48. it will probably run out when he fails to get nominated in 2024

or doesn't run.

then the fence riders will drift away and only the very sad and most pathetic hanger ons will be left.

much like the ayn rand or lindon lerouche crowd

[Cosmocat]

53. If his is physically able and not in jail he will EASILY win the nomination

I mean, he is a half year out of office and only continues to consolidate his power in the party.

His grifter clan all but runs the RNC now, pretty much every state R party kisses his butt, endorses his candidates, evicerates anyone who breaks ranks with him.

They literally did not have a party platform last summer, the party has been completely broken and taken over by him.

Give it two more years and they might not even go through the normal nomination process, might just say he is their guy.

[The Wizard]

54. Rhodes' fans had some self respect .

Trump's toxic death cult seems to embrace Covid as a means to go down with Trump to the bowels of Hades.

[cally]

37. It's McConnell

He was the one who allowed this to happen and continues to try to hinder our democracy. It’s all about power to him

[Uncle Joe]

38. Is Wolff trying to get Trump off on an insanity defense?

I know that's the card Trump is playing but he's just evil.

Thanks for the thread marmar.

[PatrickforB]

40. Sorry, but it quacked like a duck (coup), walked like a duck (coup), and

swam like a duck (coup).

It was a coup regardless of semantics. Trump might be a deranged moron, but it still matches the classic definition of 'coup.'

[The Wizard]

55. Absolutely correct

Mincing words only gives these criminals cover. It was a failed coup d'etat and the penalties should be severe. Public horse whippings would send a clear message that doing Putin's bidding has serious consequences.

[Saoirse9]

41. 81 million American people did the ultimate injury to TFG

they took away all the attention he was getting. He's like a toddler whose favorite toy was thrown in the trash. All he wants or ever wanted was lots of attention, any way he could get it. He would say or do ANYTHING to get the attention back onto himself. He cares not at all what kind of attention he gets. People can call him every ugly name in the book, sue him, take him to court, threaten him with jail, he loves all of it.

He still will say or do anything to bring attention back to himself. Its a drug he cannot live without. Until he is actually in jail he will not give up, and he will not turn loose from the GOP. They've had at least half a dozen chances to turn him loose and they chose not to. They're just as fucked up as he is. They got addicted to all the negative attention too.

[Iggo]

45. He can't get from the beginning of the sentence to the end of the sentence.

Describes a compulsive liar to a tee.

[seta1950]

49. I'm sorry

January 6th 2021 , both trump and the people who attacked the capitol knew exactly what they were doing, it was an attempted coup. Period.

[Stuart G]

50. Thank You...Great Post...K and R

[zaj]

51. An accidental coup is still a fucking coup

Michael Wofle is dangerously cavalier here.