MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace reveals how swindled Trump photographer can get back at the former president

MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace drew upon her experience as White House communications director in the George W. Bush administration to analyze "quintessentially Trumpian" reports that Donald Trump attempted to get a cut of a book deal secured by one of his official photographers.

"Since leaving office, most of the world has had to watch the twice-impeached, disgraced, ex-president try to monetize what's left of his presidency, selling more merchandise, swindling his supporters, but new reporting in The New York Times may show the ex-president at his most sort of grifty slash Trumpy," Wallace reported. "The Times is reporting that the chief White House photographer during his tenure, Shealah Craighead, informed Trump aides that she planned to publish a book with some of her best images from her time of covering ex-president Donald Trump, but as often happens, Trump had another idea."

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Wallace quoted from the story.

"First, aides to Mr. Trump asked her for a cut of her book advance payment, in exchange for his writing a foreword and helping promote the book, according to former associates of Mr. Trump," the newspaper reported. "Then Mr. Trump’s team asked Ms. Craighead to hold off on her book project to allow the former president to take Ms. Craighead’s photos and those of other White House staff photographers and publish his own book, which is now selling for as much as $230 a copy."

For analysis, Wallace interviewed New York Times reporter Nick Confessore.

Confessore said, "to kind of weasel in on your own photographer's book deal and ask for a cut and then to cut her out and do your own book, just feels like a basic metaphor for the former president's career in business, his basic instincts that what's yours is mine, I'm going to come out on top."

Wallace said "I'm not suggesting anything," but then proceeded to make quite a suggestion on national television.

Wallace noted, "a White House photographer takes great pictures of a president and they take all the bad pictures, too. And I don't know how maniacal this person is, but if she wanted to still publish a book and the president has taken all the great pictures, what's left are the not-so-great pictures, I'm sure there's a big appetite for that. It's not the right person to mess with."

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