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Jim Jordan says he didn’t need calls or meetings with Trump as he simply used TV appearances instead

Jim Jordan says he didn't need calls or meetings with Trump as he simply used TV appearances instead 2

‘We could talk to Trump through Fox News or MSNBC’: GOP Rep Jim Jordan says he didn’t need to schedule phone calls or meetings with the president and instead communicated through news network interviews

  • In his new book, Jim Jordan describes how he used TV to talk to President Trump
  • He said he realized the power of the television after Trump complimented him on a CNN appearance during his first visit to the White House
  • From then on, he and members of the House Freedom Caucus scheduled TV hits with an eye on what the president would be watching
  • Jordan went on to become a confidant of Trump
  •  ‘Do What You Said You Would Do: Fighting for Freedom in the Swamp’ is published later this month


Republican Rep. Jim Jordan has lifted the lid on how he vaulted from the political margins to Trump world insider, all thanks to the power of television. 

In his new memoir he describes how he realized that then President Trump was an avid viewer and how to take advantage of the fact.

‘Every time we were on TV, we weren’t just talking to people in the television audience; we were talking to POTUS,’ Jordan writes, according to excerpts from ‘Do What You Said You Would Do: Fighting for Freedom in the Swamp’ obtained by Cleveland.com. 

‘We didn’t necessarily need to schedule a phone call with the president or try to arrange a meeting. We could talk to him directly through Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC.’ 

Jordan, a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he had been operating on the periphery of politics.

But things changed quickly when he paid his first visit to the White House after Trump’s 2017 inauguration for a bill signing.

Rep. Jim Jordan developed a close relationship with President Trump after he realized he could communicate with the president through the medium of television, he writes in a new book

Rep. Jim Jordan developed a close relationship with President Trump after he realized he could communicate with the president through the medium of television, he writes in a new book

Jordan said he realized the power of television when Trump complimented him on a CNN appearance during his first visit to the White House in 2017

Jordan said he realized the power of television when Trump complimented him on a CNN appearance during his first visit to the White House in 2017

Jordan and other key figures in the House Freedom Caucus, such as Mark Meadows, scheduled their TV appearances with eye on the president, says Jordan in his book

Jordan and other key figures in the House Freedom Caucus, such as Mark Meadows, scheduled their TV appearances with eye on the president, says Jordan in his book

Jim Jordan's new book is published on November 23, by Post Hill Press

Jim Jordan’s new book is published on November 23, by Post Hill Press

The president took Jordan aside to compliment him on a recent CNN appearance when he sparred with host Chris Cuomo. 

From that point on, he and his fellow Freedom Caucus members developed a media strategy that meant pursuing cable news bookings that they knew would attract the attention of the viewer-in-chief as they sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act. 

Trump reportedly watched as much as seven hours of television a day while he was at the White House, although he always denied the claims.

‘I don’t watch very much TV. Nobody knows what I do,’ he said last year.

‘I work very long hours, actually, very long hours, probably longer than just about anybody. And I think more importantly, I think I work effectively.’

Either way, the media strategy paid off. Jordan and fellow Freedom Caucus member Mark Meadows became regular guests at the White House.

On one occasion, he asked them to stick around after their meeting ended so they could rejoin the president once he had got another meeting out of the way.

Jordan appeared on stage with Trump at his campaign-style rallies and he was eventually awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor

Jordan appeared on stage with Trump at his campaign-style rallies and he was eventually awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor

‘Mark, Jim, I need you,’ he told them.

The House Freedom Caucus was invited two weeks later to continue discussions about repealing Obamacare, although the effort was ultimately unsuccessful. 

‘It was at that first White House meeting that we saw what we so appreciate about President Trump,’ Jordan writes. 

‘Donald Trump is real. He is fun to be around. 

‘There is an energy, a charisma about the president that is contagious. Since that first meeting, in almost every speech I give, I tell people that I wish every American could spend time with the president. 

‘Because when you meet him, you can’t help but like him.’

Meadows went on to become White House chief of staff, and Jordan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

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