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Journalist recounts the moment in the 2016 campaign where Trump took a ‘dark turn’

In a new book excerpt published by Vanity Fair, ABC reporter Jonathan Karl recounts a moment from December 2015 in which he began to believe Donald Trump’s presidential campaign started taking a “dark turn.”

It was a few days before Christmas, Karl recounted in “Front Row at the Trump Show,” and the candidate was about to appear before thousands at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A Trump aide had insisted in a profanity-laced demand that Karl’s upcoming TV interview with the candidate feature a prominent Christmas tree, the book explained.

But just a few minutes into the interview, things went south. Karl says he brought up polls showing that Trump was consistently losing to Hillary Clinton — and he erroneously had missed a couple of polls showing her losing, which Trump pointed out. In response, Trump erupted. Continue reading.

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