- Trump lashed out at his campaign manager over turnout at a rally in Tulsa last year, a new book says.
- "How can you be so stupid? Answer me!" Trump told Brad Parscale.
- The episode was detailed in an excerpt of the journalist Michael Wolff's forthcoming book.
President Donald Trump berated his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, over lower-than-expected turnout at an indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last summer, according to a forthcoming book by the journalist Michael Wolff about Trump's final days in the White House.
"Has Brad actually ever done anything right?" Trump vented to his aides while Parscale was in the room, an excerpt of the book published in The Times of London on Tuesday said. "He's f---ed up everything."
The June 2020 rally was promoted as Trump's campaign-trail comeback after COVID-19 lockdowns halted most in-person gatherings. Before the event, the Trump campaign, including Parscale, boasted that nearly 1 million people had requested tickets.
The crowd turned out to be significantly smaller. After the rally, the Trump campaign claimed that 12,000 people attended. The Tulsa Fire Department said only about 6,200 supporters showed up.
The empty seats reportedly infuriated Trump.
"How can you be so stupid? Answer me!" Trump told Parscale, according to the book.
Parscale failed to put together a defense before Trump lashed out at him again, the book says.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid ... just tell me how stupid you can possibly be?" Trump continued. "I want to know. Really. Tell me."
The Trump campaign appeared to blame the inflated audience expectations on TikTok users and K-pop fans who'd registered for the event in large numbers with no intention of attending. Parscale said in a statement at the time that "phony ticket requests never factor into our thinking."
Parscale claimed that the low turnout was because of "a week's worth of the fake news media warning people away from the rally because of COVID and protestors."
Trump and his senior advisor Jared Kushner later demoted Parscale and handed over the campaign operation to his deputy, Bill Stepien.
Wolff's book, "Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency," is set to come out on July 27.
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