US President Donald Trump allegedly sought to make his 2017 inauguration resemble a military parade, the Daily Mail reports citing “Melania & Me”, a new upcoming book by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, former senior advisor to FLOTUS.
Describing Wolkoff as the person who "was instrumental in planning the January 2017 swearing-in ceremony, the parade and surrounding celebrations for Trump's presidency", the newspaper says her book reveals how Trump and his family had "several ideas" on how to celebrate his victory, "not all of which came to fruition".
"I want tanks and choppers. Make it look like North Korea", Trump, then a president-elect, allegedly said.
At the same time, Ivanka Trump reportedly sought to hold an "Environmental Ball with Leonardo DiCaprio at the National Portrait Gallery", while Don Jr.'s and Eric's wanted "a 'Camouflage and Cufflinks' ball".
The newspaper points out, however, that the White House has already disputed "much that is in the book", arguing that Wolkoff has an "imagined need for revenge".
"Anybody who secretly tapes their self-described best friend is by definition, dishonest," Melania Trump's chief of staff Stephanie Grisham said. "The book is not only full of mistruths and paranoia, it it is based on some imagined need for revenge. Wolkoff builds herself up while belittling and blaming everyone she worked with, yet she still managed to be the victim. Sadly, this is a deeply insecure woman who's need to be relevant defies logic."