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High-maintenance Trump was 'snubbed by top Romney aides'

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Donald Trump, the big-mouthed mogul whose endorsement of Mitt Romney was one of the most bizarre moments of the 2012 campaign peppered the Republican nominee with unsolicited advice but was snubbed by his senior advisers, insiders revealed today.

Trump was invited to Romney's election night bash in Boston but his helicopter left the city's Logan airport long before the Republican candidate conceded the race to President Barack Obama, according to an in-depth account of the 'odd couple'. 

The reality star and 'Apprentice' host became an embarrassment to Romney in the waning days of the campaign as he made a much-ridiculed offered to pay $5 million for Obama's college records.

Thanks Donald: Trump endorsed Romney in Las Vegas in February giving his campaing an initial high-profile boost

On election night, he delivered an angry tirade via Twitter once Obama's victory was clear, describing the result as 'a total sham and a travesty' and encouraging a 'revolution in this country'. 

He thundered: 'The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.'

A number of senior Romney advisers were uncomfortable about associating their candidate with Trump, who had initially floated the notion of his own presidential run - as he had done twice previously, almost certainly solely for publicity purposes.

Trump's main 'issue' was exposing Obama's supposedly fraudulent citizenship. This rabble rousing on the 'Birther' conspiracy theory briefly propelled him to the top of some early Republican primary polls.

But with Romney struggling to beat off challenges from Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum and distrusted by many 'base' conservative Republicans, Trump was viewed by some as a figure who could help the former Massachusetts governor with a key voting bloc.

'He played very well with blue-collar-type Republicans, and the campaign saw that," one source in Trump's camp told McKay Coppins of Buzzfeed. 

'If you have no education, and you work with your hands, you like him. It's like, "Wow, if I was rich that's how I would live! The girls, the cars, the fancy suits". His ostentatiousness is appealing to them.'

Support: Trump endorsed Romney last February in Las Vegas as the GOP candidate's aides thought he could help attract a key section of voters

There was an intensive campaign to woo Trump. When top campaign strategist Stuart Stevens called someone close to the Celebrity Apprentice star and asked what they could do to win him over, the response was: 'Flattery goes a long way with Mr. Trump.'

A year ago, Romney visited Trump Towers in New York to see 'the Donald' - a path already trodden by fellow Republican candidates Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry.

  More... Oops! Team Romney accidentally releases his VICTORY website... as it is revealed how he graciously admitted defeat and stopped aides sending planes to contest swing state results Mitt puts his feet up with his family as he prepares to fade from public life after his 'very public death' Republicans' problem with women: Twice as many unmarried female voters supported Obama over Romney Will he ever learn? Now Trump paints himself the VICTIM after calling for a 'revolution' because of Obama's 'sham' victory

Romney, clearly ill at ease with the association, dodged photographers but the two men supposedly hit it off. The Trump friend told Coppins: 'I think it's a rich guy thing.'

But by the time a deal was struck and Trump agreed to endorse Romney, some senior Romney advisers were so sick of him they refused to deal with him, leaving Andrea Saul, press secretary and a relatively lowly figure in the decision-making apparatus, to handle him.

According to Coppins, her desk became littered with Trump aides' business cards, and Post-It notes reminding her to call them back.

Blowhard: Buzzfeed claims some senior Romney advisers were so sick of Trump's calls they refused to deal with him

Enlarge   Embarrassment: Trump's election night Tweets have made him a figure of fun in recent days

As part of the deal, Romney agreed to announce the endorsement with a press conference at Trump's Las Vegas hotel. Romney appeared bemused by what he was doing, standing beside Trump and saying: 'There are some things you just can't imagine happening. This is one of them.'

Trump made robo-calls for Romney during the primaries but he became a major headache, peppering the campaign with unsolicited advice on strategy.

The Obama campaign made hay of the Trump association. Last month, David Plouffe, a senior White House adviser and Obama's 2008 campaign manager, said: 'Donald Trump is Mitt Romney’s biggest supporter, so he owns everything he says.'

When Trump demanded a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention, the campaign compromised by agreeing to a five-minute video produced by senior campaign strategist Russ Schriefer. 

Loser: Trump's spokesman denied the claims and another insider said after Romney's loss their links would be severed as The Donald 'doesn't like to be associated with failure'

Coppins reported that the video was built around Trump delivering his signature line 'You're fired!' to Obama. But the video was never broadcast - a victim of the cancellation of the first day of the convention due to Hurricane Isaac.

Michael Cohen, a spokesman for Trump, told Coppins that there had been no strain between his boss and the Romney campaign.

"I doubt the veracity of any statement that questions the strong relationship between Governor Romney and Donald Trump,' he said.

'Trump was one of Mitt’s strongest and most popular surrogates. Mr Trump and Romney’s senior staff communicated on a continuous basis and no such complaints alleged were ever voiced. I suspect the two will continue to maintain a relationship for years to come.'

Another person close to Trump, however, told Coppins that he doubted Trump would want to maintain links with the defeated Republican nominee. 

'Trump doesn’t like to be associated with failure. Trump's a winner. My guess is today he’s pretty disappointed.'






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