Maggie Haberman comes swinging for Trump's human 'binkie'
White House correspondent Maggie Haberman came swinging Sunday for the person she referred to as President Donald Trump's human "binkie."
Haberman appeared on MS NOW Sunday morning to discuss with host Jacob Soboroff the New York Times' recent reporting on Trump's catering container escape and those he abandoned on a decoy Air Force One.
"We still don't have answers to as to how he picked," Haberman said, then added wryly, "I can guess why Natalie Harp and and Dan Scavino were with him."
Haberman then explained while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's presence on the plane made tactical sense, as Trump was engaging in a military operation on a military jet, Harp was there for another reason.
"She is sort of his binkie for lack of a better way of putting it," Haberman said, "[His] comfort blanket."
Walt Nauta was on the plane for a similar reason, she argued: hair spray.
"He also always carries that brown leather briefcase that became very familiar in term one," said Haberman. "It had things like Tic Tacs and hairspray and all kinds of stuff."
Soboroff then grilled Haberman on Trump's decision not to bring Stephen Miller on the flight.
"[Miller] is sort of locked at the hip with the president," Soboroff said. "And when I heard that he left Stephen Miller back on the plane, I don't know, my ears perked up. I don't know what to make of it."
Haberman said she didn't know — and vented her frustration that so little about the decision-making process had been made clear to the public.
"As best as we can tell from our reporting, this was a scramble," she said. "I understand this all happened fast, but it speaks to the degree to which they don't trust the media. They don't see having to tell the media things as a priority at all, or public disclosure."