CNN's breathless 'exclusive' scoop from Maggie Haberman's new book about Donald Trump isn't as interesting as they think

Sarah D | 10:59 AM on September 12, 2022

As you may or may not have heard, the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman has a forthcoming book about former President Donald Trump:

PREORDER Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, in the UK (!) here https://t.co/cBy83BWAqV or the US here. To be released Oct. 4 https://t.co/vB2v3C0Ref

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 26, 2022

While most of us will have to wait until the October release, CNN was fortunate enough to get an early look. And they’re highlighting the mother of all bombshells in an exclusive scoop:

Exclusive: "I'm just not going to leave." Trump repeatedly insisted he wouldn't leave the White House after his election loss, a new book by NYT reporter Maggie Haberman reveals. https://t.co/zLQUW9ezG3

— CNN (@CNN) September 12, 2022

More from CNN:

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly told aides in the days following his 2020 election loss that he would remain in the White House rather than let incoming President Joe Biden take over, according to reporting provided to CNN from a forthcoming book by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.

“I’m just not going to leave,” Trump told one aide, according to Haberman.

“We’re never leaving,” Trump told another. “How can you leave when you won an election?”

Trump’s insistence that he would not be leaving the White House, which has not been previously reported, adds new detail to the chaotic post-election period in which Trump’s refusal to accept his defeat and numerous efforts to overturn the election result led to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by pro-Trump rioters.

Is CNN sure that Trump’s insistence that he wouldn’t leave the White House has not been previously reported? Ah, wait. Maybe we’re thinking of all the CNN talking heads who spent the 2020 election season reporting that Donald Trump wouldn’t leave the White House if he lost the election. Maybe we’re thinking of all the firefighters and liberal pundits who insisted that Donald Trump wouldn’t leave the White House if he lost the election. Now that we think about it, we actually heard from a lot of people that Donald Trump wouldn’t leave the White House if he lost the election.

Anyway, this “exclusive” is great and all, but as far as we know, Donald Trump is not currently in the White House, despite the fact that he lost the election. So what exactly is so interesting about any of this?

Yikes. I hope he doesn't follow through with it when Biden is sworn in -599 days from now. https://t.co/BkfCLV0tVZ

— Eric Spencer (@JustEric) September 12, 2022