Trump touched a 'hot stove' when he went on a firing spree as president: Maggie Haberman

When it comes to running the country, former President Donald Trump maintains he learned from the mistakes from one particular predecessor: Nixon.

But as New York Times' Maggie Haberman explained, some of the firing frenzy that affected Trump's term in office didn't amount to another Saturday Massacre — but some cost him. One particular dismissal backfired.

Haberman on CNN's "The Source" recalled Trump firing Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates "almost immediately" and asked for Mike Flynn's resignation and then in 2017 came for FBI Director James Comey.

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"He fired James Comey... I guess you could say some of those were staggered, other people would say that firing of James Comey is what led to the appointment of [Special Counsel] Robert Mueller."

"And so it was something of a hot stove that he touched."

The fateful move led to Mueller leading an investigation that probed Russian attempts meddle with the 2016 election where Trump was vying for the presidency against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and determining if there was a clandestine scheme to coordinate with Russia.

In June 2017, following Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey, the special counsel investigation expanded to examine whether the president had attempted to obstruct justice.

The Pulitzer Prize winner was reacting to a recent interview Trump did with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt.

"I learned that from Nixon," Trump said. "I said let me just live with these people for a little while before I get rid of them."

"But I had some people like, ah, 'Why do we want to mention names for?' But I had some people that were terrible, and I had some people that were phenomenal. And the good news is I know them all now."

Back in 2017 when he took over the White House from President Barack Obama, Trump said he was naive.

"I had to rely on people to give me recommendations," he said about filling his cabinet and other posts. "And some of the recommendations come from RINOs [Republicans In Name Only]. And by the way, some were great. I had some unbelievable people. But I also had some people that I wouldn’t have picked had I known the way they were."

So when it came to cleaning house, Trump said he took cues from Nixon.

"But in many ways, he was his own worst enemy. He was certainly, I mean, they went after him like they’ve never gone after anybody. He made some mistakes, to put it mildly. The firings were a mistake. You notice the way I kept people that I couldn’t stand?"

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