Trump once told McConney, “You’re fired” — but it was just a “teaching moment,” the former Trump Organization controller testified.
McConney shared an anecdote from early in his tenure at the Trump Organization, in the late 1980s — which might have foreshadowed the iconic catchphrase Trump later brandished on his reality TV show, The Apprentice.
“I would hand-deliver the [cash position] report to him once a week,” McConney explained.
On one of those occasions, McConney said he entered Trump’s office while Trump was on the phone. After he dropped off the report, McConney said he turned to leave. Trump asked whoever he was on the phone with to “hold on.”
“Jeff, you’re fired,” he said Trump told him, before turning back to his conversation on the phone.
McConney said he waited until Trump rang off. When he did, he said, “Jeff, you’re not fired. But my cash balances went down since last week.”
“It was a teaching moment,” McConney said. “Just because someone is asking for money, negotiate with ’em, talk to ’em — don’t just do it mindlessly.”
Trump, sitting at the defense table, appeared to flash a smile as McConney relayed the anecdote.