Then-President Donald Trump was reportedly so upset after it was reported that he was taken to an underground bunker in the White House that he called for the staffer who leaked the story to be executed for “treason.”
According to an excerpt of Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender’s new book “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,” the former president seethed over the report that he was taken to an underground bunker during protests that erupted after the death of George Floyd.
“Trump boiled over about the bunker story as soon as they arrived and shouted at them to smoke out whoever had leaked it. It was the most upset some aides had ever seen the president,” Bender wrote.
The book continued, “‘Whoever did that, they should be charged with treason!’ Trump yelled. ‘They should be executed!'”
Then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows reportedly tried to “calm the president as startled aides avoided eye contact” but assured Trump that “I’m on it. We’re going to find out who did it.”
The New York Times reported in May 2020 that the Secret Service rushed Trump to the underground bunker “used in the past during terrorist attacks” as racial justice protesters gathered outside the White House. The Times noted that some protesters threw bricks and bottles.
But during an interview with Fox News, Trump denied that he was rushed to the bunker due to the protests.
“It was a false report, I wasn’t down … I went down during the day, and I was there for a tiny, little short period of time. And it was much more for an inspection,” he said, adding, “I went down. I looked at it. It was during the day. It was not a problem. And I read about it like a big thing. There was never a problem. We never had a problem. Nobody ever came close to giving us a problem.”
Additionally, Trump claimed the reason he went to the bunker was for an “inspection.”
However, then-Attorney General William Barr told Fox News that the Secret Service recommended that Trump should go to the bunker because “things were so bad.”
Bender told CNN on Tuesday that Trump was upset the story of him being taken to the bunker “made him look weak.”
Additionally, Bender said his sources “assumed [Trump] wasn’t serious about” executing the staffer but, “I didn’t speak to anyone who actually asked him to find out.”