PRESIDENT AND PREDATOR

I Know the Secret of Trump’s Creepy New Friendship: Biographer

Trump’s new buddy is around for a reason, author Michael Wolff says.

President Donald Trump’s biographer says he knows exactly why he’s brought a strange new friend into the fold.

Author Michael Wolff said that Trump’s newfound public friendship with Brett Ratner, the disgraced filmmaker, demonstrates that the 79-year-old is losing faith in his entourage of cronies and is branching out as a result.

“So when the trip in China finished—and, again, why was Brett Ratner in China? Other than to be there as Donald Trump’s BFF and security blanket, and the guy he could talk to?“ Wolff told the Daily Beast’s executive editor, Hugh Dougherty, in a new episode of Inside Trump’s Head. ”And in fact, when the trip ended, Donald Trump said to Brett Ratner, ‘I’ve got to be able to get in touch with you at all times.’”

Ratner, 57, joined the president’s caravan to China last week, which also included billionaire tech CEOs such as Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Apple’s Tim Cook, under the guise of scouting filming locations for Rush Hour 4, which Trump helped greenlight late last year.

The now-disgraced director fell out of the Hollywood scene after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, including actress Olivia Munn. He denied the allegations, but Warner Bros. severed ties with him in 2017, and he moved to Israel in 2023.

Ratner, who was pictured in the Epstein files, was called by the first lady, Melania Trump, to direct her self-titled documentary in late 2024. Amazon acquired the rights to Melania for $40 million and promoted the film with a $35 million marketing campaign.

However, the film bombed at the box office, making only $16.6 million on its $75 million budget. Several crew members from the film even asked that their names not be included in the credits.

“That’s crazy,” Dougherty replied to Wolff. “Which is ironic, because basically, there’s plenty of people who can get in touch with Donald Trump at all times. He answers his phone at 6:30, at 2:30 in the morning. He’s on his phone at four in the morning.”

“Well, I think the issue is here is Brett Ratner,” Wolff said before imagining Trump’s mindset around his new buddy. “‘You’re on point, you’re... my BFF, so I’ve got to be able to speak to you whenever I need to speak to you.’”

Reached for comment, White House spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast in a frequently recycled statement: “Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s--t and has been proven to be a fraud. He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.”

The Daily Beast has reached out to Ratner for comment.

The author went on to explain why exactly Trump needs a new friend in his orbit.

BAD FORTUNES

Disgraced ‘Melania’ Director Hitches Ride With Trump

Annabella Rosciglione

“Well, there’s no one around him. I mean, literally. Everybody is now someone to blame,” Wolff said. “That’s the important thing—I think—takeaway here. Well, actually, there are a couple of takeaways here. But one of those takeaways is that he understands how bad things are.”

Trump’s approval rating has continued to flounder amid his highly unpopular war on Iran, which has now entered its 11th week. At its onset, Trump claimed the conflict would only last “four to six weeks.”

Since his “excursion” began, 13 American service members have died, and hundreds more have been wounded. Additionally, domestic gas prices have skyrocketed, pushing the average price per gallon to as high as $4.55.

The president said last week that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation” when he’s negotiating with Iran, despite the growing concern over the rising cost of living in the U.S.

Play Video

“Now, in his way of processing that, is to blame someone else,” Wolff continued. “But, of course, that doesn’t change how bad things are. And things are very bad.”

“And then, the other takeaway is a character takeaway,” he added, “that the friendship with Brett Ratner exactly goes to the character of it all, or the Epstein of it all, or the Trump of it all, or the grab them by the p---y of it all.”

Find and subscribe to Inside Trump’s Head with Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes of incomparable insight into the psyche of the world’s most talked-about man drop every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evening on YouTube and Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday mornings on other podcast platforms.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Vic VerbalaitisNight Breaking News Reporter

Inside Trump's HeadPodcast

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.