--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the president got on the phone after…" description: "\"“When the president got on the phone after dinner, it was often a rambling affair. In paranoid or sadistic fashion, he’d speculate on the flaws and wea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/michael-wolff-423_quote_when-the-president-got-on-the-phone-afte_1711901.jpg" --- # When the president got on the phone after dinner, it was… ![“When the president got on the phone after dinner, it was often a rambling affair. In paranoid or sadistic fashion, he’d speculate on the flaws and weaknesses of each member of his staff.” quote by Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/michael-wolff-423_quote_when-the-president-got-on-the-phone-afte_1711901.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/michael-wolff-423_quote_when-the-president-got-on-the-phone-afte_1711901.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/michael-wolff-423_quote_when-the-president-got-on-the-phone-afte_1711901.jpg) > ““When the president got on the phone after dinner, it was often a rambling affair. In paranoid or sadistic fashion, he’d speculate on the flaws and weaknesses of each member of his staff.”” [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The president’s late-night calls were often disorganized and hostile, revealing his distrust of staff. **In simple terms:** President’s calls were chaotic and hostile. Key Takeaway Beware of leadership paranoia. Themes leadership trust communication Mood tense critical Type political observational When to use this quote - executive meetings - staff briefings - crisis management Key Concepts political psychology power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does paranoia affect decision making? - What safeguards can protect staff? A Different Perspective Such behavior can erode team morale and effectiveness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Checking your phone during dinner is no less rude than reading 'People' during dinner, which I once saw a woman do at Blue Ribbon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/checking-your-phone-during-dinner-is-no-less-rude-than-reading-people/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [I will never speculate on data. I always need to see data.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-birx/i-will-never-speculate-on-data-i-always-need-to-see-data/) [Deborah Birx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-birx/) > [We can speculate on what's likely, but what's needed is an investigation. And speculation is no substitute for facts. As a former prosecutor, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blumenthal/we-can-speculate-on-what-s-likely-but-what-s-needed-is-an/) [Richard Blumenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blumenthal/) > [“If you have to speculate if someone loves you and wants to be with you, chances are they don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/if-you-have-to-speculate-if-someone-loves-you-and-wants-to-be-with/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [When people mention our solo projects, people start guessing: What will Rose do? What will Lisa do? I enjoy watching fans speculate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jisoo/when-people-mention-our-solo-projects-people-start-guessing-what-will/) [Jisoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jisoo/) > [I secretly think reality exists so we can speculate about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-secretly-think-reality-exists-so-we-can-speculate-about-it/) [Slavoj Zizek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [The 3-point shot would have certainly added more to my career points, but I don't know how many. It's one of those things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-havlicek/the-3-point-shot-would-have-certainly-added-more-to-my-career-points/) [John Havlicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-havlicek/) > [I will not rule out anything. I don't speculate on my own future. I'll wait and see what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrone-willingham/i-will-not-rule-out-anything-i-don-t-speculate-on-my-own-future-i-ll/) [Tyrone Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrone-willingham/) > [Rumours are rumours. The Internet is going to report whatever they have to speculate on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/future/rumours-are-rumours-the-internet-is-going-to-report-whatever-they/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/future/) > [I can't speculate on what did or did not happen. I only know what I said and what I intended to convey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-can-t-speculate-on-what-did-or-did-not-happen-i-only-know-what-i/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have a novel that I can write. It's about three soldiers from Somalia. Some babies have been disappearing up on 144th Street, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-have-a-novel-that-i-can-write-it-s-about-three-soldiers-from/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [“Yes, yes, but the freedom to speculate is essential-" "No one has tried to deprive you of that. Nor is anyone offended. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-m-miller-jr/yes-yes-but-the-freedom-to-speculate-is-essential-no-one-has-tried-to/) [Walter M. Miller Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-m-miller-jr/) > [It is much better to learn to deal with the ills we have now than to speculate on those that may befall us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-much-better-to-learn-to-deal-with-the-ills-we-have-now-than-to/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [It's hard to speculate what tomorrow may bring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/it-s-hard-to-speculate-what-tomorrow-may-bring/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [People will speculate about what they want, but that is not my intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/people-will-speculate-about-what-they-want-but-that-is-not-my/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) ## More by Michael Wolff > [Donald Trump doesn't necessarily stay mad for very long. He's a transactional guy. If you can offer him something, he will take it. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-doesn-t-necessarily-stay-mad-for-very-long-he-s-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“he could yet make a case for a straight line from Nixon to Trump.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/he-could-yet-make-a-case-for-a-straight-line-from-nixon-to-trump/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“it confirmed Bannon’s worst fear: Trump, in his true heart, was a marshmallow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/it-confirmed-bannon-s-worst-fear-trump-in-his-true-heart-was-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“An important aspect of Kaplan’s New York Observer and its self-conscious inside media baseball was that the paper became the prime school for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/an-important-aspect-of-kaplan-s-new-york-observer-and-its-self/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The candidate who billed himself as a billionaire—ten times over—refused even to invest his own money in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-candidate-who-billed-himself-as-a-billionaire-ten-times-over/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [If institutions don't grow, they... well, I don't know what happens to them, because they always grow. I suppose the point is that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/if-institutions-don-t-grow-they-well-i-don-t-know-what-happens-to/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Even though Trump liked to portray his business as an empire, it was actually a discrete holding company and boutique enterprise,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/even-though-trump-liked-to-portray-his-business-as-an-empire-it-was/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“the organizational premise of the Trump White House: the family would always prevail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-organizational-premise-of-the-trump-white-house-the-family-would/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Trump, who referred to the Chinese leader as “Mr. X-i”; the president was told to think of him as a woman and call him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/trump-who-referred-to-the-chinese-leader-as-mr-x-i-the-president-was/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Donald Trump, even more than his father, was perceived as a vulgarian—after all, he put his name on his buildings, quite a déclassé thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-even-more-than-his-father-was-perceived-as-a-vulgarian/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-index-that-appeared-in-the-print-version-of-this-title-does-not/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Trump liked to say that one of the things that made life worth living was getting your friends’ wives into bed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/trump-liked-to-say-that-one-of-the-things-that-made-life-worth-living/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The kids”—Jared and Ivanka—exhibited an increasingly panicked sense that the FBI and DOJ were moving beyond Russian election interference and into family finances. “Ivanka…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-kids-jared-and-ivanka-exhibited-an-increasingly-panicked-sense/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [I am old enough to think the word 'journalist' is not all that noble a designation. Journalist - that record keeper, quote taker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/i-am-old-enough-to-think-the-word-journalist-is-not-all-that-noble-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Politics had seemed to become, even well before the age of Trump, a mortal affair. It was now zero-sum: When one side profited, another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/politics-had-seemed-to-become-even-well-before-the-age-of-trump-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) [Explore all 570 Michael Wolff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) ## More Paranoid quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I'm paranoid. On my stationary bike, I have a rear view mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewis/i-m-paranoid-on-my-stationary-bike-i-have-a-rear-view-mirror/) [Richard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewis/) > [To understand paranoid people better, follow them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/to-understand-paranoid-people-better-follow-them-around/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone’s not following you, does it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-granger/just-because-you-re-paranoid-doesn-t-mean-someone-s-not-following-you/) Shauna Granger > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Let me tell you something ass-eyes, let me tell you ALL something: war has made me very PARANOID! and when you get to eye-balling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-wayans/let-me-tell-you-something-ass-eyes-let-me-tell-you-all-something-war/) [Damon Wayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-wayans/) > [You see, the difference is the Republicans' hatred of Obama is based on a paranoid feeling about what he might do, what he's thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/you-see-the-difference-is-the-republicans-hatred-of-obama-is-based-on/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“Paranoid means you are aware of 10% of the problem”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oran-kangas/paranoid-means-you-are-aware-of-10-of-the-problem/) [Oran Kangas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oran-kangas/) > [We were talking briefly about cocaine... yeah. Anything that makes you paranoid and impotent, give me more of that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/we-were-talking-briefly-about-cocaine-yeah-anything-that-makes-you/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I'm constantly paranoid that I'll be unemployed for the rest of my life... and have to go back folding shirts at the Gap, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-wu/i-m-constantly-paranoid-that-i-ll-be-unemployed-for-the-rest-of-my/) [Constance Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-wu/) > [Weirdly, there have been a lot of critics of conservatism, but very few critics of innovation. As a culture, we are deeply paranoid about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/weirdly-there-have-been-a-lot-of-critics-of-conservatism-but-very-few/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [I'm always thinking as an outsider, and I'm always mindful of whether a company can be impactful on a global basis. Frankly, I'm paranoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-rimer/i-m-always-thinking-as-an-outsider-and-i-m-always-mindful-of-whether/) [Danny Rimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-rimer/) > [I'm an athlete and I'm black, and a lot of black athletes go broke. I do not want to become a statistic, so maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serena-williams/i-m-an-athlete-and-i-m-black-and-a-lot-of-black-athletes-go-broke-i/) [Serena Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serena-williams/) > [“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you. - Joseph Heller”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-crouch/just-because-you-re-paranoid-doesn-t-mean-they-aren-t-after-you/) [Blake Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-crouch/) > [I'm not paranoid, but I am cautious. I don't drink tea with strangers, I don't fly Aeroflot and I avoid certain countries with close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/i-m-not-paranoid-but-i-am-cautious-i-don-t-drink-tea-with-strangers-i/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) Browse all 455 Paranoid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When the president got on the phone after dinner, it was often a rambling affair. 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