The Lost Donald Trump Executive Meeting Transcript Now Revealed!
Gregg Zegarelli Esq.
Managing Shareholder at Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group, PC
In personally attending countless executive staff meetings with powerful entrepreneurs, the following is a re-enactment by my own vision of one possible dialogue that actually occurred in the Oval Office in the not too distant past.
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Mr. President, I'm very sorry for your loss in the Presidential Election.
[President Trump] What do you mean, "loss"? They're still counting.
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Well, Sir, actually, I think they're finished.
[President Trump] What are you talking about? There's fraud in the counting!
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] I understand that there's probably been some fraud, because nothing's perfect. I get that, Sir, but certainly not enough fraud to change the count in any material way.
[President Trump] Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Are you on my Executive Staff?
Pause...
[President Trump] Do I have to ask you again? Are you on my Executive Staff?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Oh, I am sorry, Sir, I thought that was a rhetorical..., yes, Sir, I am a member of your Executive Staff.
[President Trump] As a member of my Executive Staff, did we have—do we have—a common goal for the election?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Certainly, Sir.
[President Trump] What was—is—our goal?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Your re-election, Sir.
[President Trump] Are you saying the election is over?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Well, er....
[President Trump] Answer the question!
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Sir, I don't think there's any other way to look at it.
[President Trump] No other way? No other way? You're working for Donald Trump, in the White House of the Great United States of America. Are you the best and brightest that I expect for your role?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Is that a rhet...Well, Sir, my credentials are exceptional.
[President Trump] On paper, certainly. Okay, Mr. Best and Brightest, let me ask you this... Is there any card that you can think of that has not yet been played in this game?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Well, Sir, I'm not sure I would call this a "game"...
[President Trump] Stop right now, or I will fire you on the spot, right now! You're saying this process of politics and elections is not a game? Is that what you're saying to me, B&B?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] There's a duty to the public, Sir, and calling it a "game" trivializes it.
[President Trump] You're a nincompoop, man. You've confused the how and the whys. There is an objective, right?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Yes.
[President Trump] In a competitive or adversarial environment, right.
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Yes.
[President Trump] Implementing a competitive strategy and tactical moves to achieve the goal, right?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Yes.
[President Trump] With a winner and loser, right?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Yes.
[President Trump] Sure sounds like a "game" to me.
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] But, Sir, the probability of success in the objective is remote.
[President Trump] That's a different issue. So, let's get back to the question...? Mr. Best and Brightest, let me ask you this, again... Is there any card that you can think of that has not yet been played in this game of ours?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Sir, the only available card would be to challenge the vote count to get underneath the presumptive result.
[President Trump] So, Mr. B&B, now, finally, you're thinking! I can never figure it out! Why, why do I have to prod everyone like this?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Well, the reason is...
[President Trump] Enough, that was a rhetorical question.
[President Trump] Okay. So there is a card we have not played in this game, being to file a lawsuit.
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Well, I guess so.
[President Trump] You're killing me, B&B. Then let's file the lawsuit, and play that card. I don't understand why I have to think of this stuff.
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Well, Sir, the problem is that, as I think I already said, a positive result is improbable.
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[President Trump] Please, man, please. Improbable. You're kidding, right?
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] No, Sir. I thought of playing the lawsuit card in the election before our meeting today. The issue is that the probability of a successful result simply does not rationally justify the tack.
[President Trump] You're going to talk to me, Donald Trump, about success and probabilities? Best selling author, top-rated TV show host, international magnate, billionaire? One man would be satisfied to have accomplished one of my accomplishments in his entire life, and I have a long list.
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Respectfully, Sir, I'll point out, um, most respectfully, Sir, that you've also filed bankruptcies in utter failure.
[President Trump] Before I fire you, let me tell you something. Let me tell you something, Mr. Ivy League: Do you judge the unmatched-in-history brilliance of our NASA program by the Challenger failure? No. Is every Warren Buffet pick profitable? No. Does Tom Brady have a career 100% QB pass rating? No. You're a simple-minded academic nincompoop. You don't get it. Anyone can fail, not everyone can succeed. The measure of success is by the success. Great accomplishments and great goals necessarily draw in the potential for great failure; it's part of the game that you don't see or don't understand. I can't talk to you anymore, Ivy League. Get out of here. You're an idiot. You're fired.
[Mr. *, Executive Staff Member] Thank you, Sir. I regret...
[President Trump] Out of here, now!
President Trump pointing to another Executive Staff member...
[President Trump] What is your opinion of playing the lawsuit card?
[Ms. *, Executive Staff Member] Well, I think Mr. * is right. It's a long-shot.
[President Trump] You guys are killing me. We have two choices in this game. Concede, or play every available card and make the other side earn every bit of ground to win. That's all there is. I don't concede, so the other guy must beat me, and he hasn't done that yet.
[Ms. *, Executive Staff Member] Even many decorated Generals agree that it is time to concede. Respectfully, Sir, if we assess the probabilities, Mr. Biden has beaten you.
[President Trump] Here we go, again, now with you. Where were the probabilities when George Washington stuck it out with no money, no soldiers, frozen feet and no ammunition? Where were the probabilities when Abraham Lincoln had all but lost the cause in the Civil War, and how about the 7 generals he had to fire finally to persevere? Where were the probabilities when Prime Minister Churchill just about single-handedly saved Western Democracy? Guts can outwit probabilities.
[Ms. *, Executive Staff Member] Sir, I...
[President Trump] I swear the world is turning out educated idiots. Do you play golf? Do you understand the probabilities of a hole-in-one? Let me guess, you did not watch Super Bowl XLII, with a crazy improbable finale with David Tyree's "helmet catch" did you?
[Ms. *, Executive Staff Member] Well, I...
[President Trump] It doesn't matter. What everyone here is telling me is that there remains one last card to play in this game, that has not been played, and that it is improbable that we will be successful. Does that sum it up?
[Ms. *, Executive Staff Member] Yes, but that seems to be overly simplistic.
[President Trump] It is not overly simplistic. That's the bottom line. All the noise is above the line, but that is the bottom line. We have a final card that we have not played in this game, meaning that the game is not yet over.
[President Trump] I've worked with a lot of brilliant attorneys over the years, so I know the next question. If we play the lawsuit card, is it a fair claim or frivolous? To me, saying the lawsuit card is frivolous is the same as saying that there is no lawsuit card, so I want to make sure the lawsuit card is really a card.
[Ms. *, Executive Staff Member] Well, Sir, I cannot say that filing a lawsuit is frivolous per se, because you do have a rational basis that there is some fraud, and we really do not know the true amount of the fraud, but we think, if we have the opportunity for fair discovery, we might or perhaps could discover facts that demonstrate fraud a some "important" level. But, whether we fairly believe that we can prove the fact that there is fraud at a sufficient level to demonstrate materiality, or ultimate injury, is the question.
[President Trump] Look. Earlier, Mr. * said something about duty. I get that. 74,000,000 people voted for me, 74,000,000 people! Million. Million people, in this Great United States. Almost half a nation, and worked their hearts out for me. I think they are entitled to a simple answer to a basic question: "Did we exhaust every card available to us in this election? " Did we? Yes or no?
[Ms. *, Executive Staff Member] No, Sir, but...
[President Trump] Then go file the lawsuits! If we lose we did our best. But, if I concede, I beat myself. I go down fighting. That's how fighting is done. That is Donald Trump. Never underestimate perseverance, time and luck. Abraham Lincoln said, "Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible." Churchill said, "Never, never, never give up." And George Washington said, “Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages."
[President Trump] Half a nation despised Abraham Lincoln, and wholly entire nations despised Winston Churchill and George Washington. It might be that half a nation despises me. But, the fact remains that half a nation voted for me. This game is not yet finished. I am not afraid of being beaten, but I am afraid of conceding. If the other guy is better, he needs to prove it, because I won't admit it....Well, at least not until I can claim that concession is somehow a win.
President Trump pointing to another Executive Staff member...
[President Trump] You. You over there. While Ms. * is filing the lawsuits, how can we claim concession as a win? You are the best and brightest, right?
* Gregg Zegarelli, Esq., earned both his Bachelor of Arts Degree and his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His dual major areas of study were History from the College of Liberal Arts and Accounting from the Business School (qualified to sit for the CPA examination), with dual minors in Philosophy and Political Science. He has enjoyed Adjunct Professorships in the Duquesne University Graduate Leadership Master Degree Program (The Leader as Entrepreneur; Developing Leadership Character Through Adversity) and the University of Pittsburgh Law School (The Anatomy of a Deal). He is admitted to various courts throughout the United States of America.
Gregg Zegarelli, Esq., is Managing Shareholder of Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group, PC. Gregg is nationally rated as "superb" and has more than 35 years of experience working with entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes, including startups, INC. 500, and publicly traded companies. He is author of One: The Unified Gospel of Jesus, and The Business of Aesop™ article series, and co-author with his father, Arnold Zegarelli, of The Essential Aesop: For Business, Managers, Writers and Professional Speakers. Gregg is a frequent lecturer, speaker and faculty for a variety of educational and other institutions.
© 2020 Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn.
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Entrepreneur - CHS Consulting, Inc at DBA Pirate Pirate Cleaning and Services
4yExcellence is self-determinism and awareness. It is a mindset, an attitude. No championship caliber team hits the field to lose. Winning is always the objective. Today's leaders don't want to win, they just want to cross the finish line...ugh!