i m just curious if, bob, i ll start with you, obviously, our conversations changed pretty radically soon, but i m curious if the donald trump you have written about in this book lines up with the donald trump you were talking about and to and reporting on in 2015 if this were hints back then that you would have a guy that was as undemocratic and try to overturn presidential elections if there were a lot of hints that this guy actually was going to try to be an authoritarian president. it brings me back to a moment. march 31st, 2016. wood wrd and i were talking about this. it was the day we interviewed president trump together on the cup of the republican nomination down in washington, d.c. i don t want to speak too much about what we discussed behind the scenes.
and i m just curious if and bob costas, i ll start with you, our conversation changed radically. i m curious if the donald trump that you ve written about in this book lines up with the donald trump you were talking about and to and reporting on in 2015 if there were hints back then that you would have a guy as undemocratic, that would try to overturn presidential elections, if there were a lots of hints this guy was going to try to be an authoritarian president? march 31st, 2016, woodward and i were talking about this the other day. it was the day we interviewed president trump today when he was on the cusp down in washington, d.c., and i don t want to speak too much about what bob and i discussed behind the scenes. oh, go ahead.
he was on the apprentice. we talked a little bit about it during the transition talking to donald. i am curious and bob costa, i will start with you, did donald trump, you written about him in this book lines up with the donald trump you are talking about and talking to and error reporting to in 2015. if there were a lot of him, this guy was trying to be an authoritarian president. march 31st, 2016, woodward and i were talking about this the other day.
that direct payment plan was more than an offhand response during a campaign rally, it was his official strategy. this didn t get a lot of attention in the campaign, but 22 days into the government shutdown, we need to revisit it. it is a two-page memo first published by the washington post dated march 31st, 2016. it was sent to robert costa and bob bob woodward ward from donald j. trump on campaign letterhead. the subject, compelling mexico to pay for the wall. it is then candidate trump s three day plan to force mexico to, quote, make a one time payment of 5 to $10 billion to pay for the wall. that s back when trump claimed it would be built for $10 billion. estimates are roughly double that now. according to the memo, on day one, trump said the u.s. would suggest redefining it and invoking part of the patriot act to take a portion of money that workers send to mexico and block all payments sent to mexico by
by the washington post dated march 31st, 2016 was sent to robert costa and bob woodward on the subject compelling mexico to fay for the wall. and then president trump s three-day plan to force mexico to make, quote, a one-time payment of 5 to $10 billion to pay for his wall. that s back when built said it could be built for $10 billion. estimates have roughly doubled that now. according to the memo, trump said he would suggest revoking the patriot act. to take a portion of the money sent to mexico and all workers illegally. it s not clear whether the president can even do that. but let s go to day two of the plan, assuming mexico would immediately protest, as the memo says, because so many people rely on those as they re known. and on day three of the plan, the u.s. will, quote, tell mexico, if the mexican