''Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House'' is a memoir by

Omarosa Manigault Newman Omarosa Onee Manigault Newman () ( Manigault; born 1974), often known as Omarosa, is an American reality television show participant, writer, and former political aide to former US President Donald Trump. She became widely known as a contestant ...

, who served as the Director of Communication for the

Office of Public Liaison The White House Office of Public Engagement is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under the administration of President Barack Obama, it was called the White House Office of Public ...

in the

Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...

from 2017 through 2018, that recalls her time working for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. The book was released on August 14, 2018. The book topped ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list on August 23, 2018.

Background

met

while she was a contestant on the first season of ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...

''. She continued to appear with Trump on ''

The Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It was a variation of ''The Apprentice'' series, hosted by then real estate developer (later 45th president of the United States) Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, an ...

'' and ''

The Ultimate Merger ''Donald J. Trump Presents The Ultimate Merger'' is an American reality television dating game show. A spin-off of '' The Apprentice'', the series premiered on TV One on June 17, 2010. The series' first season starred Omarosa, who in 2004 appe ...

''. In July 2016, she joined Trump's 2016 presidential campaign as the Director of African-American Outreach. Following Trump's victory, she joined the

as Director of Communications for the

. She was fired by John F. Kelly, White House Chief of Staff, in December 2017. In the book, Manigault Newman labels Trump a "racist", and states that witnesses have confirmed the existence of tapes of Trump repeatedly saying "

nigger In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...

" during filming of ''The Apprentice''. She stated that Trump's cognitive functioning is declining, and that she turned down an offer made by

Lara Trump Lara Lea Trump ( Yunaska; born October 12, 1982) is an American former television producer who is married to Eric Trump, third child of Donald Trump. She was the producer and host of Trump Productions' '' Real News Update'' and a producer of '' ...

of a $15,000 per month "senior position" in Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, which came with a

non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...

that was as "harsh and restrictive" as she had seen in her television career.

Taped White House conversations

Manigault Newman had made secret audio recordings while working at the White House as part of the Trump administration and released some before and some after the book came out. She played a recording of Kelly firing her during an August 12 appearance on the NBC morning program ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...

''. Manigault Newman also released a tape in which several Trump advisers discuss the potential existence of a tape in which Trump uses the "n-word" and how to deal with the fallout if it was ever made public. Manigault Newman made the accusation that this discussion took place and released the tape after

Katrina Pierson Katrina Lanette Pierson (née Shaddix; born ) is an American activist and communications consultant. She was the national spokesperson for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Early life and education Pierson was born in Kansas to a whit ...

, the spokesperson for

Eric Trump Eric Frederick Trump (born January 6, 1984) is an American businessman, activist, and former reality television presenter. He is the third child and second son of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, and his fir ...

, denied on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

that such a conversation took place. Another released tape appears to confirm Manigault Newman's claim that Lara Trump, President Trump's daughter-in-law, promised her a $15,000 per month "senior position" on the 2020 Trump campaign, if she kept quiet. The offer was made after Manigault Newman had already left the White House. According to Manigault Newman, the offer was an "attempt to buy my silence".

Responses by the Trump administration

White House Press Secretary

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders (born August 13, 1982) is an American former political spokesperson and the governor-elect of Arkansas. She was the 31st White House press secretary, serving under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. She ...

said that the book is "riddled with lies and false accusations", and accused Manigault Newman of "trying to profit off these false attacks". Trump reacted by referring to Manigault Newman as a "lowlife" and "that dog".

Legal action by the Trump campaign

The Trump campaign filed for arbitration against Manigault Newman for allegedly violating a confidentiality agreement she signed in 2016. The campaign hired

Charles Harder Charles John Harder (born November 9, 1969) is an American lawyer at the law firm Harder LLP based in Los Angeles, California. Education and early career Harder graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a bachelor's degree ...

, who previously represented the Trump campaign in legal action taken against Michael Wolff following the publication of his book, '' Fire and Fury''.

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

proceeded with the publication of the book despite receiving a warning letter from Harder. The case, which was decided in favor of Manigault Newman on September 27, 2021, means she can "collect legal fees from the Trump campaign".

References

{{Trump media 2018 controversies in the United States 2018 non-fiction books American memoirs Books about politics of the United States Books about the Trump administration Criticism of Donald Trump English-language books Trump administration controversies Gallery Books books