Trump Bragged About His Shutdown “Ratings” To Paul Ryan: “This Is Why I Was So Great On The Apprentice”

The Washington Post reports:

After President Trump vowed to take credit for shutting down the government over border wall funding during a televised Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders in December, West Wing aides sprung into overdrive to clean up the mess.

Taking ownership of a shutdown was considered verboten in Washington and the overwhelming consensus was that the president had screwed up. But Trump was elated with the media coverage that followed.

“This is why I was so great on the Apprentice,” he told a startled Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) during a phone call the next morning, crowing that the ratings of the meeting were “great.” Ryan said he did not know such government meetings scored ratings — or that they were released within 12 hours, according to aides familiar with the call.