http://www.nydailynews.com/news/pol...ows-support-scathing-column-article-1.2580370
Former Trump strategist disavows support for GOP front-runner in scathing tell-all column — 'Trump never intended to be the candidate, but his pride is too out of control to stop him now’
A former strategist for a pro-Donald Trump Super PAC claimed in a shocking column that even the GOP front-runner himself was surprised at his electoral success and never had any real intention of being President.
In a blunt essay published Monday on the XOJane blog, Stephanie Cegielski said Trump had simply aimed to position himself as a "protest" candidate and was grossly unprepared to become commander-in-chief.
"I don't think even Trump thought he would get this far. And I don't even know that he wanted to, which is perhaps the scariest prospect of all," wrote Cegielski, former communications director for the Trump-aligned "Make America Great Again" Super PAC.
"Trump never intended to be the candidate. But his pride is too out of control to stop him now.”
Cegieslki went on to say she’s convinced Trump “doesn’t want the White House.”
"He certainly was never prepared or equipped to go all the way to the White House, but his ego has now taken over the driver's seat, and nothing else matters," added Cegielski in her column published five months after the "Make America Great Again" PAC was shuttered.
The Trump camp fired back immediately.
“She knows nothing about Mr. Trump or the campaign and her disingenuous and factually inaccurate statements in no way resemble any shred of truth,” a spokeswoman said. “This is yet another desperate person looking for their fifteen minutes.”
In her column, Cegielski said she "fell in love" with Trump's candidacy in 2015 due to his straight-talking, no-nonsense style and his "business background" and was recruited for the high-profile communications job shortly thereafter.
But she was dissuaded by the temperamental titan's repeated foreign policy gaffes, writing that the last straw was Trump's tweet following the terror attack Sunday in Lahore, Pakistan that left at least 72 people dead.
"Another radical Islamic attack, this time in Pakistan, targeting Christian women & children. At least 67 dead, 400 injured. I alone can solve," the mogul tweeted Sunday afternoon — a statement Cegielski blasted as "ridiculous, cartoonish" and "almost childish."
"This is not how foreign policy works. For anyone. Ever," she wrote. "Superhero powers where 'I alone can solve' problems are not real. They do not exist for Batman, for Superman, for Wrestlemania and definitely not for Donald Trump."
Cegielski, whose LinkedIn profile describes her as an adjunct professor at NYU teaching courses in "reputation management," and as a consultant at Cegielski Communications Group, urged voters to help "stop this campaign in its tracks."
"I am now taking full responsibility for helping create this monster — and reaching out directly to those voters who, like me, wanted Trump to be the real deal," she wrote, pointing to her belief that Trump is simply a television "character" whose 2016 bid is merely an extension of his TV and real estate-fueled celebrity.
"I wanted Trump to be real," wrote Cegielski, who, along with the Trump campaign itself, did not immediately respond to the Daily News' request for comment on her story. "He is not."
"The problem with characters is they are the stuff of soap operas and sitcoms and reality competitions — not political legacies," she said. "Trump made me believe. Until I woke up."
Former Trump strategist disavows support for GOP front-runner in scathing tell-all column — 'Trump never intended to be the candidate, but his pride is too out of control to stop him now’
A former strategist for a pro-Donald Trump Super PAC claimed in a shocking column that even the GOP front-runner himself was surprised at his electoral success and never had any real intention of being President.
In a blunt essay published Monday on the XOJane blog, Stephanie Cegielski said Trump had simply aimed to position himself as a "protest" candidate and was grossly unprepared to become commander-in-chief.
"I don't think even Trump thought he would get this far. And I don't even know that he wanted to, which is perhaps the scariest prospect of all," wrote Cegielski, former communications director for the Trump-aligned "Make America Great Again" Super PAC.
"Trump never intended to be the candidate. But his pride is too out of control to stop him now.”
Cegieslki went on to say she’s convinced Trump “doesn’t want the White House.”
"He certainly was never prepared or equipped to go all the way to the White House, but his ego has now taken over the driver's seat, and nothing else matters," added Cegielski in her column published five months after the "Make America Great Again" PAC was shuttered.
The Trump camp fired back immediately.
“She knows nothing about Mr. Trump or the campaign and her disingenuous and factually inaccurate statements in no way resemble any shred of truth,” a spokeswoman said. “This is yet another desperate person looking for their fifteen minutes.”
In her column, Cegielski said she "fell in love" with Trump's candidacy in 2015 due to his straight-talking, no-nonsense style and his "business background" and was recruited for the high-profile communications job shortly thereafter.
But she was dissuaded by the temperamental titan's repeated foreign policy gaffes, writing that the last straw was Trump's tweet following the terror attack Sunday in Lahore, Pakistan that left at least 72 people dead.
"Another radical Islamic attack, this time in Pakistan, targeting Christian women & children. At least 67 dead, 400 injured. I alone can solve," the mogul tweeted Sunday afternoon — a statement Cegielski blasted as "ridiculous, cartoonish" and "almost childish."
"This is not how foreign policy works. For anyone. Ever," she wrote. "Superhero powers where 'I alone can solve' problems are not real. They do not exist for Batman, for Superman, for Wrestlemania and definitely not for Donald Trump."
Cegielski, whose LinkedIn profile describes her as an adjunct professor at NYU teaching courses in "reputation management," and as a consultant at Cegielski Communications Group, urged voters to help "stop this campaign in its tracks."
"I am now taking full responsibility for helping create this monster — and reaching out directly to those voters who, like me, wanted Trump to be the real deal," she wrote, pointing to her belief that Trump is simply a television "character" whose 2016 bid is merely an extension of his TV and real estate-fueled celebrity.
"I wanted Trump to be real," wrote Cegielski, who, along with the Trump campaign itself, did not immediately respond to the Daily News' request for comment on her story. "He is not."
"The problem with characters is they are the stuff of soap operas and sitcoms and reality competitions — not political legacies," she said. "Trump made me believe. Until I woke up."
