Roger Stone caught on hot mic explaining how to manipulate Trump: ‘I did it for 30 years’
Roger Stone first encouraged Donald Trump to run for president in the late 1990s
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Longtime Donald Trump ally Roger Stone was caught on audio explaining how he allegedly manipulated the former president for decades.
Mr Stone, who served as a formal adviser to Mr Trump during his first presidential campaign, is the subject of the Danish documentaryA Storm Foretold which refers to Mr Stone as “Trump’s political godfather.”
Despite Mr Stone publicly boasting about Mr Trump’s abilities and image, in private it seems he felt differently.
In footage obtained by The Daily Beast, Mr Stone is caught being recorded at a distance saying: “I have a 40-year record of being able to convince the big man to do what’s in his best interest.”
From the description, it seems Mr Stone is unaware he is being recorded when he explains a hypothetical situation where he manipulates Mr Trump.
“You have to say, ‘Remember that night when we were in Buffalo. And you gave that speech, and God, it had to be 10,000 people, the biggest crowd they’d ever seen. And you saying XYZ and the place went crazy – remember that? I don’t know where you came up with that line, but it’s one of the best things,” Mr Stone allegedly said.
Mr Stone then pretends to be Mr Trump and responds to his hypothetical statement: “Yeah I’m going to use that one again.”
According to Mr Stone, he has been using the strategy for 30 years.
“Doesn’t f***ing matter that he never said it – doesn’t matter,” Mr Stone allegedly added. “It’s time-consuming, but it works. I did it for 30 years.”
The Independent has reached out to Mr Stone for comment.
The audio of Mr Stone explaining how he manipulates Mr Trump is juxtaposed with footage of him publicly praising the former president to an audience of Trump supporters.
A Storm Foretold is directed by Christoffer Guldbrandsen. It was released in Denmark in March.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments