Roger Stone recalled urging then-businessman Donald Trump to seek the presidency in 1988, saying he believed the New York businessman possessed the leadership skills and instincts needed to lead the country years before Trump became a political figure.
Stone, who advised Trump during his first campaign, told the story about asking Trump to run before his 2016 White House bid on Sean Hannity’s podcast, Hang Out with Sean Hannity, released on Tuesday.
During a conversation with Trump at the time, Trump told Stone voters had “terrible” choices in then-presidential candidates Al Gore and George H.W. Bush, saying there must be someone better.
Stone recalls telling Trump there is a better candidate they could support, telling the future president that he is that candidate. Trump told Stone it was “ridiculous.”
When Trump questioned why Stone believed he would be a good candidate, Stone listed a variety of reasons that would be key points to Trump’s second presidency.
“You’re a vocal critic that our NATO allies don’t pay their fair share, you’re a vocal critic that we’re being taken to the cleaners in all these trade deals, … [and] you’re strong on national defense,” Stone said. “And why not? Who would be better?”
After Stone asked that, Trump told the conservative political consultant that if he ran, he would win, to which Hannity jumped in to say first lady Melania Trump believed the same thing about Trump’s fate if he launched a White House bid.
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Hannity said he was one of the first to support Trump’s presidential ambitions and that other conservative pundits criticized him for backing Trump.
“I had almost every conservative voice attacking me for supporting him,” Hannity said. “But I saw something in him and I knew he could win and I knew the country would be better off.”
