Omarosa Manigault Full Interview On Secret Recordings, Alleges Audio Of Trump Saying N-Word — TODAY

[0:00] Now to our exclusive live interview with Omarosa Manigault Newman. She first entered the public eye, of course, in 2004, becoming a star contestant on the first season of The Apprentice and then The Celebrity Apprentice in 2008. Nearly a decade later, the Trump campaign came calling and after Trump's election victory, so did the White House. Omarosa joined the administration as director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, focusing on African-American outreach. She was fired by chief of staff John Kelly last December in a meeting in the [0:30] situation room that she recorded. Well, now Omarosa is providing NBC News with a new exclusive excerpt of a phone call she says she received from the president the day after her firing. General Kelly, General Kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave. No, nobody even told me about it. Nobody, you know, they run a big. Well, Omarosa is now out with a new book. It's called Unhinged. It provides an inside look at both the Trump campaign and the White House. The administration [1:12] already hitting back saying the book is, quote, riddled with lies and false accusations. And that brings us to Omarosa who joins us now. Good morning. Good to see you. Glad to be back here at the Today Show. Nice to see you. I should let you know I am recording this conversation. Very good. What a coincidence. Yes. You brought us a new tape. The president, the day after you were fired, we just heard it. He says he didn't know about it. He doesn't like you leaving the White House. Is he lying in that tape? I'm not certain. But what's most concerning, one, why was I locked in the situation room for almost two hours? [1:42] Why was I not allowed to leave? I'll get to the second part. And lastly, when I asked to leave and I asked for counsel and I asked for my husband, why was I denied at least four times? When I spoke to him and he said he had no idea that should be alarming to any American, that the president of the United States does not know what's happening with an assistant to the president who's known him for 15 years. [2:02] Okay, but just, I mean, you brought the tape. Absolutely. Is he lying? Because yesterday you told Chuck on Meet the Press, you think he did know you were fired. Yes, because there was. Right. This tape shows him saying, I didn't know you were fired. Is he lying? Yes, because there were subsequent calls after that. [2:16] Okay. There is a complete organization between the two of them. He probably instructed General Kelly to do it so that he could keep his hands clean when he spoke to me. I'm wondering, is he sincere? The other question is, is General Kelly running this country or is the president running this country? Because he said he didn't know and they run a big operation. [2:37] Back to the honesty issue. Do you think the president lies often? Wait, wait, wait, wait, Savannah. Who is the they in the tape? You can't ask the question and then ask another question without my answer. You asked me, do you think he knows? [2:48] The answer is, I'm not certain. Here's the other part. Who's running this country? When Donald Trump says that they run a big operation, who is the they? Is General Kelly puppeting Donald Trump? Is he truly running this country instead of the president? [3:03] Do you think the president lies often? Oh, absolutely. How long have you known that? [3:07] There was a report that said that he lied almost 4,000 lies in the last year. Have you known that he is a liar, as you say? [3:15] Well, absolutely. Why did you work for him? Savannah, slow down. I'm going to ask your question. Don't worry, I'm here. I've got all the time to meet. [3:23] Yeah, no, but I'm, yeah. So you don't have to ask 10 questions in one second. It's okay. [3:27] First of all, he is known to be an entertainer, to exaggerate, but I never expected him to lie to the country. [3:34] I thought that he would take his oath of office seriously, that he would be committed to advancing this country. [3:39] But instead, as I stated, there was a report that said he has said something like 4,000 lies since he's taken office. [3:47] So he absolutely has an issue with the truth, and sometimes he battles with reality. [3:52] Yeah, let's talk about the tape of the Situation Room. You talked about it. You obviously want to talk about it. [3:59] I do. John Kelly, inside the Situation Room. [4:01] Before we get to the substance of it, I'm just curious, how did you tape him? [4:06] The Situation Room is one of the most secure places in the White House. [4:09] You're supposed to leave your phone. It's the honor system. [4:12] You're supposed to leave your devices at the door. Did you carry a phone, a recording device? How did you do it? [4:17] I'll just leave that to your imagination. I will say this. [4:19] Well, why be coy? [4:20] I'm not being coy. I'm being very clear here. [4:24] It's not acceptable for four men to take a woman into a room, lock the door, and tell her, wait, and tell her that she cannot leave. [4:31] It also is unacceptable to not allow her to have her lawyer or her counsel. [4:36] And the moment I said, I would like to leave, and they said, I can't go, it became false imprisonment. [4:41] Calm down. [4:42] And the other part of this is, I'm going to tell you that there are other people who have been treated this way by General Kelly. [4:49] There's a lot of very corrupt things that are happening in the White House, and I am going to blow the whistle on a lot of this. [4:56] Are you concerned at all about any legal consequences for taping in a Situation Room? [5:00] But are you? [5:01] You should be concerned. [5:02] Are you? [5:02] No, absolutely not, because I have protections. [5:04] The moment that I've decided to blow the whistle on a lot of the corruption going on in the White House, there are protections that afforded it to me. [5:11] So let's be clear. [5:12] The things that General Kelly is doing in this White House should concern all Americans. [5:16] You've heard, I'm sure, by now what Sarah Huckabee Sanders had to say about the fact that this tape happened. [5:22] What does it say about your own integrity if you're going around taping General Kelly in this Situation Room, [5:28] which is supposed to be secure, taping President Trump at least once, and I think you've indicated more than that. [5:34] Why are you taping people, and what does that say about you? [5:36] But don't you see the irony of all people, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, saying that this book is full of lies when she lies to the American people every day. [5:45] But two rights, you know, two wrongs don't make a right. [5:47] I guess you're here before me, so I'm asking you. [5:50] But here's the truth, Savannah. [5:50] Had I not recorded this, people would say she has a credibility issue. [5:54] Everything that's in my book unhinged. [5:56] Everything that you see is, in quotes, is verifiable, it's documented, and it's cooperated. [6:00] Why did you feel you had to record? [6:01] Because the first thing they do when someone leaves the White House, Savannah, is say they don't have credibility. [6:06] They're just a coffee person. [6:08] They didn't have access. [6:09] They never talked to the president. [6:11] They weren't in the room. [6:11] Why would you work in a cesspool like that? [6:13] Well, first of all, it's an honor to serve this country. [6:16] Unfortunately, this White House has turned that upside down, where this White House does not respect normal procedures that usually go with the dignity of serving in the White House. [6:26] I thought it would be different. [6:27] But unfortunately, Donald Trump is letting the country down. [6:29] Let's talk about one of the most explosive allegations in the book. [6:33] There's a lot. [6:34] There are many. [6:35] There are. [6:36] Luckily, you said you'd be here a while, so we're good. [6:39] Subsequently, you said you've actually heard, you told Chuck on Meet the Press yesterday, that you have heard a tape from the Apprentice years in which Donald Trump is heard using the N-word, a racial epithet. [6:51] Multiple times. [6:51] You heard the tape. [6:52] Multiple times. [6:53] Now, let me be clear. [6:54] I wasn't the one that broke the story about the N-word tape. [6:56] It happened during the fall, during the campaign. [7:00] And people were contacting me and reaching out to me, trying, trying to expose this. [7:05] And, in fact, there was a conference call among campaign workers, Jason Miller, Lynn Patton, and Katrina Pearson, where we talked about the possibility of him saying it. [7:15] And his own spokesperson, Katrina Pearson, said, I have heard from a credible source that, yes, he said it. [7:20] But I have you here before me. [7:22] You actually heard the tape. [7:23] Absolutely. [7:23] So let's get into it. [7:25] How long is this tape? [7:28] There are multiple tapes. [7:29] Let's establish that. [7:30] And when you read my book tomorrow, which is available tomorrow on Hinge, you'll see that there are three different sources who cooperate the different things that he says. [7:38] But you say you have since the book closed and was published and put in print. [7:41] I have. [7:41] I've heard it myself. [7:41] How long is that tape? [7:43] It's about three minutes. [7:45] Is it audio or video? [7:46] It's audio. [7:47] Because these are supposed to be camera out tape. [7:48] It's audio. [7:49] Okay. [7:49] And what is the context? [7:50] But how is he using this? [7:52] I'm going to allow you, just like most Americans, to read the book. [7:54] But this isn't in the book. [7:54] No, no, no. [7:55] But the talk about the N-word tape is throughout the book. [7:58] But you've heard this tape. [7:59] Have you read the book? [7:59] Yes. [8:00] But have you? [8:00] Okay. [8:01] I have. [8:01] I answered that question, Savannah. [8:03] So what's the next question? [8:04] Just I was curious, the context in which you alleged the president used the N-word. [8:07] He was talking about some African-Americans in the production during the course of The Apprentice, which is unacceptable. [8:15] And here's the thing. [8:16] Why don't we ask Donald Trump a simple question? [8:18] Donald J. Trump, have you ever used the N-word? [8:21] And allow him to respond. [8:22] Because the people who have this tape intend to release this tape. [8:26] Unfortunately, like I said, they may be using it for political motivation. [8:30] So why don't we simply ask the White House to issue a statement whether or not the president of the United States... [8:34] Do you think they will release it? [8:36] I'd like to see. [8:37] I would like to see if Sarah Huckabee Sanders, as the spokesperson, will ask the president, or maybe a journalist will ask the president, have you ever uttered that word about African-Americans? [8:48] And let him answer. [8:48] You now say, not just because of this tape, but because of other matters, that you believe the president to be a racist and a misogynist. [8:57] This is a theme of your book. [8:59] Absolutely. [8:59] Let me play what you said on ABC about whether the president is a racist the day after you were fired. [9:05] Yes. [9:06] Do you think this president is racist? [9:09] Absolutely not. [9:10] I would never sit nor work for someone who I believe to be a racist. [9:14] Donald Trump is racial, but he is not a racist. [9:19] So why did you say then he's not a racist? [9:23] First of all, you say that was the day after you left. [9:25] First of all, I had just come out of, like you said, the day after I left, I had just been threatened by General Kelly, who said that things could get ugly for me, that there would be damage to my reputation. [9:35] So I was being very careful, because I came out of that situation room, I was terrified. [9:39] I was concerned about, almost, I'm almost done. [9:42] I was very concerned about my well-being, about what these powerful people would do to me after they threatened me, and clearly after they released the story that I was running around the White House, which we now know to be not true. [9:53] So I was being very cautious about what I said, as to not upset these folks, who still, in fact, have my belongings, who are saying that they won't return them. [10:02] And, in fact, someone told me in the White House that they had destroyed some of my personal effects, and I want them back, Savannah. [10:07] What about mental health? [10:09] Thank you. [10:09] That is another part of the interview. [10:11] Thank you. [10:11] You said that. [10:12] I'm almost, I. [10:13] You want to talk about, the book is called Unhinged. [10:15] You know that, you know that we have an interview right after this. [10:19] Yes. [10:19] And I know that you want to go more, with more time. [10:22] But I will answer your last question, and you see that the time is now. [10:25] Yeah, what time do you need to go? [10:27] No, you know that it's a seven-minute interview. [10:29] Now we're at 10. [10:30] Are we? [10:31] I don't know. [10:31] I actually don't know the time. [10:33] But if you want to answer it, if you've got to go, you've got to go. [10:35] I'm going to say this to you. [10:35] The book comes out tomorrow. [10:37] All of this is in the book, and I hope that your viewers will take an opportunity to read it and learn about this incredible journey that I had for 15 years with the President of the United States. [10:46] And every single thing that you've heard on that tape is in this book, and many, many, many more. [10:52] The book is called Unhinged. [10:53] Thank you. [10:53] Who does that refer to? [10:54] Oh, Donald J. Trump, absolutely. [10:56] Do you think he's mentally competent to do this job? [10:58] No, I don't think he's fit. [11:00] And as we heard on the recording that you just played, he doesn't even know what's happening in his White House. [11:04] General Kelly, John Kelly, is running this White House, and Donald Trump has no clue what's going on. [11:10] He's being puppeted, and that's very dangerous for this nation. [11:13] Omarosa, if you've really got to go, I've got to stack more questions. [11:16] I'm not afraid, but I do encourage you to read the book. [11:19] You're right here live on the Today Show. [11:19] I am live, but you know I have an interview right after this with someone else. [11:22] All right. [11:23] The book is Unhinged, as you mentioned. [11:25] Omarosa, thank you very much. [11:26] We'll be back right after this. [11:27] Hello, Today fans. [11:29] Thanks for checking out our YouTube channel. [11:30] Subscribe by clicking that button down there, and click on any of the videos over here [11:37] to watch the latest interviews, show highlights, and digital exclusives.