Sondland Says MAGA Sycophants Don’t Know How to Deal With Trump

• Gordon Sondland said MAGA “sycophants” didn’t know how to deal with Trump.
• People have to stand their ground against a “guy like Trump” to earn his respect, Sondland wrote in his new book.
• Sondland’s book The Envoy is slated for release on October 25.

Gordon Sondland said MAGA “sycophants” don’t know how to effectively manage Trump.

The former ambassador to the European Union, who was fired by former President Donald Trump in 2020, has penned an account of his time working for Trump in his forthcoming book, The Envoy.

Sondland wrote that he earned Trump’s respect through his no-nonsense approach, an attitude he described as essential for aides looking to “survive” and “emerge unscathed” from Trump.

“None of the incumbent politicians, from Ted Cruz to Josh Hawley to Taylor Greene to Tom Cotton, know how to embrace that approach. They are sycophants who have built their careers on pretending and playing roles that are not authentic,” wrote Sondland.

Sondland added that for a “guy like Trump,” toadylicking is not the way to “get things done.”

In the prologue to his book, Sondland said he thought Trump was a “man with a fragile ego” who needed to nurture his pride when “an addict would feed a habit.” But beyond flattery, Trump’s allies need to understand “what motivates him” in order to “deal with him appropriately,” Sondland said.

“To deal with a bully, you have to confront them. To deal with an egomaniac, you have to feed that ego,” wrote Sondland.

Sondland peppered his book with anecdotes from his private interactions with Trump. He said he once called Trump about eating tic tacs and not sharing them. Sondland said Trump was “slightly embarrassed” by the comment and offered him breath mints.

“When you point out to him that he’s not acting like a normal person, it catches him off guard – and then he kind of likes it. People don’t do it enough,” wrote Sondland.

Sondland testified against Trump in November 2019 in the former president’s first impeachment trial. Sondland said Trump’s team used military aid and pressured Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden, son of then-Vice President Joe Biden. his testimony undermined Trumps legal action that there was nothing in return.

Trump was indicted December 2019. He was acquitted by the Senate in February 2020.

Representatives from Cruz, Hawley, Greene and Cotton did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

The Envoy is scheduled for release on October 25th.