Senior White House Official Once Described Trump as 'Deplorable'
Before joining the Trump administration, one of President Trump’s top spokespeople described him as “deplorable” and described the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape in which Trump boasted of groping women as “some justice.”
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah made the remarks about the then Republican presidential candidate in emails to a Republican National Committee colleague, the New York Magazine reported.
Keep up with this story and more by subscribing now
The remarks were exchanged with Andrew Hemming, an RNC researcher who went on to work for the Trump administration as a communications representative.
According to the report the two worked on anti-Trump research for the eventual president’s rivals, and supported the candidacy of Jeb Bush.
"U wanna hear something a little f--ked up?" Shah wrote in an email on Oct. 7, 2016 a few hours after the release of the hot mic tape on which Trump bragged of grabbing women “by the pussy.”
"Sure," Hemming replied.
"I'm kinda enjoying this, some justice," Shah wrote back, referring to the shocking Trump recording. "I honestly don't think it's the worst thing he's done but he somehow got passes for the other acts."
"Trump is a deplorable," Shah added, echoing the controversial phrase used by Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail to describe “half” of Trump’s supporters.
White House communications director Hope Hicks did not deny that Shah called Trump “deplorable,” but insisted he has “tremendous respect” for the president.
"Perhaps if the leakers trying to undermine him were as talented and smart as Raj, they would be here fighting for the American people every day, rather than trying desperately to remain relevant by spreading information that Raj himself shared many months ago," Hicks said in a statement to media outlets. "Raj's skills as a press secretary are only surpassed by his stellar character."