Trump's 'closest supporters' were 'panicked' at the danger he was putting the country in during his last year: WaPo reporter

Appearing on CNN's "New Day" on Friday morning, Washington Post reporter Carol Leonning said that during her interviews with Donald Trump's inner circle, she was struck by the panic they expressed while believing he was putting the country in "peril."

Speaking with hosts Brianna Keillar and John Avlon, Leonnig -- the co-author of the bombshell book "I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year" along with colleague Philip Rucker -- said the one thing she came away from in interviews with the former president was that everything he did, he did for his own benefit.

"Phil and I kept seeing that, basically, his priorities were his political gain, not American democracy, not American safety, not American lives," she recalled. "It became pretty tragic and with huge consequences in 2020 a year when there was a real crisis."

"He did not have the tool kit for that because he was thinking about winning the day, winning the news cycle, short-term, my political fortune, re-election," she continued. "And I think what Phil and I found the most shocking, even though we covered this in realtime, the thing we found the most shocking as we interviewed more and more people is how panicked some of his most ardent supporters were about the peril he was willing to put America in -- again for his gain."

You can watch below:

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