It looks like Roger Stone isn’t going gently into that good night after being fired by Trump – he’s claiming that he actually was quitting before the Donaldinator ran to the Washington Post to beat him to the punch.
Sorry @realDonaldTrump didn't fire me- I fired Trump. Diasagree with diversion to food fight with @megynkelly away core issue messages
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) August 8, 2015
According to Politico, his firing had to do with arguments over how Trump is running his political campaign:
Though longtime friends, Stone and Trump have clashed before – in part because the two men share such similar combustible personalities. Both men are from New York; Stone lives in Fort Lauderdale now and Trump owns the Mar-a-Lago mansion to the north in Palm Beach. A longtime Republican operative, Stone became a libertarian. Trump has flirted with leaving the GOP as well.
The two clashed after Stone – known universally in political circles as a Nixon-era “dirty trickster” – helped bring down Trump friend and New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer in a prostitution scandal. But soon Stone and Trump were back and working together.
Stone’s friends say internal troubles in the Trump campaign were roiling before Thursday’s debate. Stone had increasingly felt that the campaign team surrounding Trump was feeding his bad habits: megalomania and peevishness. Stone wanted the campaign to focus on a message about taking on the political establishment and running government like a business.
And this later:
The next morning, Stone had to fight Trump’s handlers to meet with him for 15 minutes, prompting the following exchange that both of Stone’s friends tell POLITICO happened:
Stone: “Donald, stop with the Megyn Kelly shit. It’s fucking crazy. It’s killing us.”
Trump: “What do you mean? I won the debate. People loved it.”
Stone: “You didn’t win the debate.”
Trump: “Yes I did. Look at the polling. Look at Drudge.”
Stone: “The Drudge Report poll isn’t a scientific poll. You won’t give me the money to pay for a scientific poll. And you’re off-message.”
Trump: “There are other polls.”
Stone: “Those are bullshit polls, Donald. They’re not scientific polls. We need to run a professional campaign and talk about what people really care about.”
Trump: “We’re winning.”
A journalist questioned whether this exchange could have happened as it’s being reported, and the Politico writer was rather peevish himself about responding, so there’s some doubt if it’s terribly accurate. Even so, it appears that Trump is gonna super-Trump his campaign now that he’s ditched the one guy telling him to tone it down.
Very anxious to see the direction of the Trump campaign from here and the next round of credible polls. #StandBy
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) August 8, 2015
UPDATE!!!
Some in the comments are questioning Politico’s reporting on this, and I don’t blame you. However, Roger Stone himself went on CNN later today and said that while the words of that reported exchange may not be exact, the gist was accurate.