Elections

Trump, National Enquirer CEO ‘Have Been Friends For Years’

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Christian Datoc Senior White House Correspondent
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An October expose from New York Magazine details Donald Trump’s close, personal relationship with the National Enquirer.

The article claims that Trump’s “campaign provided information that was used” in a hit piece against Ben Carson when the two were neck-and-neck in the Republican primary polls. (RELATED: Cruz Accuses Trump Of Planting ‘Sleaze’ In National Enquirer)

Trump’s spokesman Hope Hicks denied the claims, yet NY Mag noted that Carson wasn’t the first Republican to get burned by the Enquirer this cycle:

At key moments during the GOP primary the Enquirer has helped boost Trump’s campaign by attacking his rivals and fawning over him. Two weeks after Trump launched his campaign in mid-June, the Enquirer reported that Jeb Bush was “involved in the drug trade in Florida” in the ’80s and that, as governor, he was plagued by “sleazy cheating scandals … [with a] Playboy Bunny turned lawyer.” In September, the Enquirer published an unflattering photograph of Bush’s adult daughter apparently taking cigarette breaks at her office. The article hit just days after Jeb told Americans they needed to work longer hours.

Carly Fiorina has also been slimed. After the former Hewlett-Packard CEO bested Trump at the second GOP debate last month, the Enquirer ran an article headlined “Homewrecker Carly Fiorina Lied About Druggie Daughter.”

Additionally, the piece notes that Trump and Enquirer CEO David Pecker “have been friends for years.”

Back in 2013, Trump tweeted that Pecker should take over as CEO of Time magazine.

On Friday, Trump stated he “had nothing to do” with the recent National Enquirer article, alleging Ted Cruz is having extramarital with five women, some of whom used to work for him. (RELATED: Trump Says He Had ‘Nothing To Do’ With Tabloid’s Cruz Story)

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