McKay Coppins, a “scumbag blogger” and “nervous geek” once accused by Donald Trump of “ogling women” at his luxurious Mar-A-Lago estate, has left BuzzFeed in disgrace. He plans to become a staff writer at The Atlantic, an elite publication best known for endorsing Hillary Clinton, the loser of the 2016 presidential election.
Personal news: After five great years and two presidential campaigns at @BuzzFeedNews, I'll be joining @TheAtlantic as a staff writer.
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) November 28, 2016
Trump’s decision to run for president stemmed, at least in part, from a desire for big league vengeance after Coppins wrote what Breitbart described as “one of the most venomous hit piece in recent memory” in February 2014.
The hit piece, titled, “36 Hours On The Fake Campaign Trail With Donald Trump,” was widely denounced (by Trump, via Breitbart) for “savaging Trump as a perennial fake candidate, a con artist expertly exploiting speculation about whether he might run for office.”
Breitbart editor Matthew Boyle described Coppins’ behavior during the blogger’s “reporting” excursion with The Donald:
It was an unlikely pairing. Trump, the real estate magnate, television star and conservative provocateur looked at Coppins as a nervous geek excited to finally meet an icon…
Many reporters who get a shot at “The Donald” exude confidence, but on the plane, Coppins was quiet, reserved, and nervous, those present, including Trump, recall. He maintains an awkward, geeky persona, with a choppy bleach blonde haircut and medium-thick rimmed glasses protruding from his oversized forehead. Coppins slouched in his chair during his interview with Trump, seeming intimidated…
Trump also recalled a startling comment from Coppins.
“There were two beautiful girls walking around Mar-a-Lago,” Trump told Breitbart News in a phone interview about the matter. “He said to me, ‘boy, I wish my wife looked like that’ while he was gawking at them. Unbelievable. What a scumbag.”
Trump did not take kindly to the suggestion that he wasn’t serious about running for president, and he did not forget the affront to his character. Sixteen months after Coppins penned his egregious diatribe, The Donald descended the escalator at Trump Tower to announce his candidacy for president, and the rest is history.
Trump referenced the Coppins hit piece during a Republican primary debate in March 2016. When the GOP frontrunner was asked about an allegation published in BuzzFeed, Trump reminded the American people that the source could not be trusted.
“First of all, Buzzfeed? They were the ones that said under no circumstances will I run for president. And were they wrong,” Trump said with superior confidence and stamina.
BuzzFeed editor Katherine Miller attempted to spin Coppins’ unseemly departure from the website as a “mission accomplished,” claiming the blogger’s inappropriate hit piece in 2014 was actually an inspired ploy to Make America Great Again by sacrificing his dignity.
Three years ago, @mckaycoppins called me up and asked if I was interested in political editor.
— Katherine Miller (@katherinemiller) November 28, 2016
I said, well, I just don't know. So instead he asked for my help with a particular goal.
— Katherine Miller (@katherinemiller) November 28, 2016
He said, "Let's make Donald Trump president." And I was like, "Ok, fine, you sold me."
— Katherine Miller (@katherinemiller) November 28, 2016
And with our mission complete, I congratulate @mckaycoppins on his next venture at The Atlantic.
— Katherine Miller (@katherinemiller) November 28, 2016
Nice try.
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