President Trump praised former Obama advisers Valerie Jarrett and Susan Rice during the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, according to Jarrett’s new book.
Former President Barack Obama famously roasted Trump while delivering remarks at the glitzy dinner attended by journalists and administration officials.
Later that night, Jarrett writes in Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward that Trump spotted and made his way toward her.
“He started making a beeline toward me, and I panicked,” she said. “Making chitchat with the man who fueled the birther lie, a blatant attempt to delegitimize President Obama’s presidency, was out of the question. The manufactured conspiracy theory was not only cloaked in racism, but also ginned up anger and hatred that put the entire first family in harm’s way. I looked around but there was nowhere to hide.”
Trump’s comments to her were short. “Such a pleasure to meet you,” Jarrett recalled Trump saying. “I’ve heard wonderful things about you.”
Jarrett said she and Rice compared stories later in the evening about their interactions with Trump. “Turns out Trump had said exactly the same to Susan,” Jarrett wrote.
In the years following their encounter, Trump has been more critical of Rice, Obama’s former national security adviser and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
In a tweet from 2012, Trump offered unsolicited advice to Obama about appointing Rice as secretary of state. Trump called her a “good woman” but said Obama was taunting Republicans by picking her to be the nation’s top diplomat. Weeks later, Rice withdrew her name from consideration.
In 2017, she became a target of Trump when he accused Obama officials of spying on his campaign for political purposes. Trump accused her of breaking the law for asking government analysts to disclose the names of Trump associates in intelligence reports on foreign officials.
