Trump gave out chocolates and Diet Cokes at most meetings, Bill Barr’s new book claims

Former attorney general said ex-president always wanted to include ‘just the right amount of crazy’ in his tweets

Former Attorney General Bill Barr included a description of his former employer's hospitality habits in his new book.

Mr Barr explained former President Donald Trump's refreshments of choice for guests during meetings at the White House.

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"Always the attentive host, he would constantly ensure that everyone had a Diet Coke to drink," Mr Barr wrote. "If he was feeling especially beneficent, he would open a cigar box and deal out his stash of big Hershey chocolate bars as if dealing cards. I always accepted; you have to play the hand you're dealt."

In Mr Barr's book, One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General, he recalls Mr Trump's method of handling meetings.

"Despite allowing the frequent re-litigation of issues, the relaxed, ad hoc meetings in the President's little dining room, though always discursive, could be very productive," Mr Barr wrote. "President Trump would sit at the head of the table, the TV playing in the background and a huge stack of documents to his left, which he worked his way through methodically — using his big, bold Sharpie to sign photos or annotate news clippings to send to cabinet secretaries."

While Mr Barr's recollection of Mr Trump's working habits are sometimes complimentary, he also includes ample criticism of the former president, even blaming him for the Capitol riot. He claims in the book that Mr Trump "lost his grip" after losing the 2020 election, and encouraged Republicans to look elsewhere for their future leadership. He also said he thought former First Lady Melania Trump was "smarter" than her husband, calling her both "elegant" and "intelligent."

While discussing Mr Trump's work ethic, he noted that the former president enjoyed watching hours of cable television news in the Oval Office, and said that sometimes his TV habits interrupted meetings.

"The conversation would meander along, winding through numerous diversions — some prompted by a TV item, some by new arrivals, some by the mysterious workings of the President's stream of consciousness," Mr Barr wrote. "But we would eventually reach a decision, and it was often fun getting there."

Elsewhere in the book, Mr Trump shared his theory on crafting tweets with Mr Barr.

According to the former attorney general, Mr Trump said that a "really good tweet" had to include "just the right amount of crazy."

Mr Trump was later banned from Twitter during the Capitol riot, when it was feared his platform on social media would enflame the insurrection attempt.