'You treat me like a baby!': The 'final straw' that reportedly led Trump to oust his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort

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July 18, 2017 1:36 PM

"Am I like a baby to you? I sit there like a little baby and watch TV and you talk to me?" Donald Trump reportedly shouted at Paul Manafort.

Paul Manafort checking the teleprompters before Donald Trump's speech at the Mayflower Hotel on April 27, 2016, in Washington, DC.

A new book details a fight that it says happened shortly before Donald Trump ousted Paul Manafort, who served as chairman and, for a time, manager of his presidential campaign.

The book, " target="_blank"Devil's Bargain" by Bloomberg Businessweek correspondent Joshua Green, was previewed in the Daily Mail on Monday.

According to the Daily Mail, the book says a New York Times article was the "final straw" and led to the fight that precipitated Manafort's removal from the Trump campaign.

The Times article noted that Trump's aides used TV appearances to get their messages across to him because they found that more effective than communicating face-to-face.

The day after the article's publication, apparently at the urging of Rebekah Mercer, a Republican donor who threw her weight behind Trump during the election, Trump reportedly called a meeting with his top staff at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club. The meeting, the Daily Mail said, included Manafort, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York, former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, and Manafort's deputy Rick Gates.

When everybody was assembled, Trump reportedly shouted at Manafort, "How can anybody allow an article that says your campaign is all f----- up?"

"You think you've gotta go on TV to talk to me? You treat me like a baby!" Trump added, according to Green's account of the meeting quoted in the Daily Mail.

"Am I like a baby to you? I sit there like a little baby and watch TV and you talk to me? Am I a f------ baby, Paul?" Trump reportedly continued.

The room then "fell silent," the book says, according to the Daily Mail.

A second Times article the following day appeared to seal Manafort's fate. The report, citing a secret ledger, said Manafort had been paid millions by a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party. Manafort had long worked as a consultant to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in 2014 and now lives in exile in Russia.

Aides saw the Times report as the "kill shot" that determined Manafort would be forced out, the Daily Mail said.

When Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, returned from a vacation later that week, he reportedly told Manafort: "We've really got a problem here. You're going to have to step down."

Manafort said that if he stepped down, it would "look like I'm guilty," the Daily Mail said, citing Green's book.

It "would be helpful if you stepped down," Kushner reportedly said in response.

"Yes, but I can't do that," Manafort reportedly responded.

It was at that point, the Daily Mail said, that Kushner made his point clear: "We're putting out a press release at 9 a.m. that says you've resigned. That's in 30 seconds."

Manafort resigned on August 19, opening the door for Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon to lead the Trump campaign.

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