''Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House'' is a memoir by

Omarosa Manigault Newman Omarosa Onee Newman (; Manigault; born February 5, 1974), known mononymously as Omarosa, is an American reality television star, lawyer, author, former political consultant and White House aide. She held White House staff roles during the presid ...

, who served as the Director of Communication for the

Office of Public Liaison The White House Office of Public Liaison (OPL) is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under President Barack Obama, it was renamed to the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernm ...

in the

Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

from 2017 through 2018, that recalls her time working for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. The book was released on August 14, 2018. The book topped ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list on August 23, 2018.

Background

met

while she was a contestant on the first season of ''

The Apprentice An apprentice is someone who is in training for a trade, profession. The Apprentice or Apprentice may also refer to: Television * ''The Apprentice'' (American TV series), the original reality television series * ''The Apprentice'' (franchise), ...

''. She continued to appear with Trump on ''

The Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It is a variation of '' The Apprentice'' series hosted by real estate developer Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, and actor and former California Governor Arnold Sc ...

'' and ''

The Ultimate Merger ''Donald J. Trump Presents The Ultimate Merger'' is an American reality television dating game show. A spin-off of '' The Apprentice'', the series premiered on TV One on June 17, 2010. The series' first season starred Omarosa, who in 2004 appe ...

''. In July 2016, she joined Trump's

2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

as the Director of African-American Outreach. Following Trump's victory, she joined the

as Director of Communications for the

. She was fired by

John F. Kelly John Francis Kelly (born May 11, 1950) is an American former political advisor and retired U.S. Marine Corps general who was the White House chief of staff for President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. He had previously been the secretary of ...

White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...

, in December 2017. In the book, Manigault Newman labels Trump a "racist", and states that witnesses have confirmed the existence of tapes of Trump repeatedly saying "

nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...

" during filming of ''The Apprentice''. She stated that Trump's cognitive functioning is declining, and that she turned down an offer made by

Lara Trump Lara Lea Trump ( Yunaska; born October 12, 1982) is an American political figure who is the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee. She is married to Eric Trump, the third child of U.S. President Donald Trump. She was the producer ...

of a $15,000 per month "senior position" in Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, which came with a

non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA), is a legal contract or part of a contract between at le ...

that was as "harsh and restrictive" as she had seen in her television career.

Taped White House conversations

Manigault Newman had made secret audio recordings while working at the White House as part of the Trump administration and released some before and some after the book came out. She played a recording of Kelly firing her during an August 12 appearance on the NBC morning program ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk show broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though its format has changed since th ...

''. Manigault Newman also released a tape in which several Trump advisers discuss the potential existence of a tape in which Trump uses the "n-word" and how to deal with the fallout if it was ever made public. Manigault Newman made the accusation that this discussion took place and released the tape after

Katrina Pierson Katrina Lanette Pierson (née Shaddix; born ) is an American politician and communications consultant. She was the national spokesperson for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. She defeated Justin Holland by 56.4% to 43.6% on May 28, 20 ...

, the spokesperson for

Eric Trump Eric Frederick Trump (born January 6, 1984) is an American businessman, activist, and former reality television presenter. He is the third child and second son of U.S. President Donald Trump and his first wife, Ivana Trump. Trump is a truste ...

, denied on

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

that such a conversation took place. Another released tape appears to confirm Manigault Newman's claim that Lara Trump, President Trump's daughter-in-law, promised her a $15,000 per month "senior position" on the 2020 Trump campaign, if she kept quiet. The offer was made after Manigault Newman had already left the White House. According to Manigault Newman, the offer was an "attempt to buy my silence".

Responses by the Trump administration

White House Press Secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders ( Huckabee; born August 13, 1982) is an American politician serving as the 47th governor of Arkansas since 2023. Sanders is the daughter of Mike Huckabee, who served from 1996 to 2007 as Arkansas's 44th governor ...

said that the book is "riddled with lies and false accusations", and accused Manigault Newman of "trying to profit off these false attacks". Trump reacted by referring to Manigault Newman as a "lowlife" and "that dog".

Legal action by the Trump campaign

The Trump campaign filed for arbitration against Manigault Newman for allegedly violating a confidentiality agreement she signed in 2016. The campaign hired

Charles Harder Charles John Harder (born November 9, 1969) is an American lawyer at the law firm Harder LLP based in Los Angeles, California. Early career and education Harder graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a bachelor's degre ...

, who previously represented the Trump campaign in legal action taken against Michael Wolff following the publication of his book, '' Fire and Fury''.

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

proceeded with the publication of the book despite receiving a warning letter from Harder. The case, which was decided in favor of Manigault Newman on September 27, 2021, means she can "collect legal fees from the Trump campaign".

References

{{Trump media 2018 controversies in the United States 2018 non-fiction books American memoirs Books about politics of the United States Books about the first Trump administration Criticism of Donald Trump English-language non-fiction books First Trump administration controversies Gallery Books books